I just finished covering a house fire in which one person was killed and another injured. It’s tough covering death for a newspaper our size (36,000 daily) in a city the size of Yakima (about 80,000). I want to convey the magnitude and gravity of the situation but also do it in a fashion which passes the classic “Cheerios test.” (This refers to the fact that many readers will be looking at this photograph as they eat their morning bowl of cereal). To simply show a burning house ignores the seriousness of the situation. To focus tightly on the victim would mean a loss of context for the photo and a tight photo showing CPR being administered to a victim would surely flunk the Cheerios test. I compromised by using photos in which one of the victims is completely obscured by fire and aid personnel.
This is the first photo we published. It was up on our Web site shortly after the fire.
Yakima Fire Department firefighters care for one of the victims of a house fire on South Naches Avenue on Thursday, March 19. One man was killed and another injured in the fire which occurred about 8 a.m.
The victim is obscured by the aid and fire workers with the burning house in the background.
A second photo was published on our Web site a little while later. This one also showed one of the victims being taken to a waiting ambulance. Again, he was obscured by aid and fire workers.
Yakima Fire Department firefighters and ambulance workers take one of the victims of a South Naches Avenue house to a waiting ambulance March 19, 2009. One man was killed in the morning fire while another was injured.
Some might say I (and the newspaper) are being too chicken and that we should publish more graphic photos to convey the magnitude of the tragedy. Others would say these photos were too graphic, that we have no business taking and publishing such photos and that we’re no better than a supermarket tabloid.
As I said, I try to strike a balance between the extremes so that we hopefully serve our readers in a measured and when necessary, a compassionate fashion. Such photo usage decisions aren’t easy but those decisions are well-considered with discussion between myself, the staff photographers and editors.
–Gordon King
As the aunt of the victim who died I would like to thank-you for not showing more graphic pictures of the victims. The news was hard enough to accept without having to see Paris either being worked on or being removed from the scene. I live out of state and had to access your web site to read your local news to get more details. Thank-you once again for thinking of us the family members and not .showing more graphic photos. I will always love my Paris, from his Aunt dabie as he used to call me.
i second the last comment. i knew the victim who died for almost 8 years. i met him through his father and from school. in my line of work in the military i am used to dealing with the lost of a close friend. as a new father i could not bare seeing my child after something like this happened. my heart and prayers are with his family. “Paris keep me a spot open up there.” your life has blessed many and helped change mine in a way i can never thank you enough for. im sorry i couldnt be there to help. you will always be remembered but never forgotten. rest in peace my brother.
[...] in March I blogged about covering a fatal house in which one person was killed and another badly burned. Now there’s news that the badly [...]