Stock photography may satisfy the bean counters and photo managers with ever-tighter budgets but a cheap photo may ultimately cost the publication much more than the price of the photo.

“The quality of licensed imagery is virtually indistinguishable now from the quality of images they might commission,” said Jonathan Klein, the chief executive of Getty Images, a stock photo agency.

Sure, a stock image may be good (enough) but is it truthful? How will the reader or viewer know if a photo in a news publication was an image set up and orchestrated by the photographer or a real, unrehearsed photo captured at the right time by the photographer that reflects the situation?

Or does it even matter to the reader whether the photo is real or fake?

I believe it does matter. It matters a lot. I believe in the authenticity of news images. Photos should capture reality as much as possible to accurately inform the reader or viewer. I’m talking about photojournalism here, pictures which, or at least appear to, show a real event or person.

And while there’s no guarantee that commissioned photography is indeed accurate and truthful, I believe a photo editor working directly with the photojournalist is much more likely ferret out any false images.

So a stock photo may be cheap but it may end up costing a publication much more – that publication’s credibility. To me credibility is worth much more than any savings gained by purchasing a cheap stock image.

–Gordon King

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