Danish tabloid use photo of dead tourists on frontpage

[tommykjensen]

What do You think about this frontpage a danish tabloid use as the frontpage to sell more magazines?

The big store chains in Denmark have pulled the magazine from the shelfs!

[Ikinaa]

some magazines go by 'Death sells'.

TV showed also dead people lying on the beach, did that shock anyone?

Don't misunderstand me... I wouldn't have put the picture on first page, IMO doesn't feel right.

What does now shock people? That there are dead tourists or dead people?

[tommykjensen]

Public opinion won over the tabloid this time! The tabloid has been pulled back by the publisher!

[meow]

That trash rag! We have it here too (Sweden). At least I assume it's the same. Gossip and TV? :shock:

The whole thing has been handled very poorly here. Both media and the government get very harsh critique.

[Scottes]

I wonder if it has something to do with who delivers.... If the most famous/respected Danish news show had shown dead bodies, would people have been as upset? Granted, the news show probably would have displayed it with more class and respect. Or at least perceived class and respect?

As Ikinaa mentioned I've seen the dead bodies on TV news, and I suddenly felt more upset just seeing the little thumbnail of the "trash rag" Tommy posted. I think I got upset because it's a trash rag gossip paper...

[tommykjensen]

You have a point however, at least in danish television the newsreader warn people before they run a segment with photos of dead people like this so people that don't want to see can turn away or can explain to their children what they are seeing.

And the tabloid in question sits on the shelfs were everybody see them so people that don't want to see it can't avoid it not to mention children being subjected to this.

I think it was the proper thing to do when the stores boycutted the tabloid and finally the publisher pulled it. The magazine was published today.

[Scottes]

I have to agree with you given the display issue at the very least.

[Belmondo]

The people that publish these tabloids know their audience. It sounds like they underestimated the backlash among those who don't but it.

It has been interesting to watch the evolution of some US tabloids from "I Cut Out His Heart And Stomped On It" to fairly serious, almost respectable news sources. The National Enquirer comes to mind.

[Scottes]

All I can think about is "Men In Black" and how they used these tabloids to get the latest alien news... It still cracks me up just thinking about it.

[CyberDyneSystems]

This is sad...

The whole story is sad....

[robertwgross]

It has been interesting to watch the evolution of some US tabloids from "I Cut Out His Heart And Stomped On It" to fairly serious, almost respectable news sources. The National Enquirer comes to mind.

Belmondo, you almost used "The National Enquirer" and "respectable" in the same sentence. That would be a contradiction in terms.

---Bob Gross---

[Youngster]

I personally find that absolutely disgusting and I'd hang whoever's moneyhungry enough to even consider publishing something like that.

[tommykjensen]

I personally find that absolutely disgusting and I'd hang whoever's moneyhungry enough to even consider publishing something like that.

Yes and even though the Editor today said he regretted to use that photo on the frontpage there is not question that he used it for one reason and one alone and that is MONEY! Its probably not a lot compared to other countries but the publisher just lost almost $850.000 because they had to pull it back. Unfortunately the Editor kept his job so this will not be the last time this will happen.

[JAZZ D.P.G.]

As much as I find the front page and use by this magazine disgusting..............

Freedom of speech can only be controlled by public opinion, and it worked here. Unfortunately they did not "read" public opinion properly in the first place.

[Penguin_101_1]

If it was the news (real) and not on the cover, but a warning first, then I don't have a problem with it. It is what really happened. It is the real world.

[Andy_T]

It is a very sad story.

After going through the images in my mind that I've seen of the desaster so far, I am afraid that it is difficult to get a picture of the worst stricken areas right after the catastrophe that does *not* have dead bodies in it. This in itself shows how unbelievable this desaster really is.

What makes me sad is that the magazine might have donated the money that the recall cost them for desaster relief.

Best regards,
Andy

[pradeep1]

I think this has a lot to do with cultural censorship or just news self-censorship in certain countries and areas of the world. In many parts of the world ... South East Asia, Africa, South America ... I have seen front page pictures of dead people. Not dead in the cute, sleeping in a coffin, coiffed-hair dead, but mangled with bones and faces mashed up dead. Blood everywhere. And these are respectable newspapers that carry these photos. And people don't react to them as they do in the States, I've noticed.

Once in my local Augusta, Georgia hometown newspaper, at a local horse race, a horse fell and broke its neck and died. The front page picture had a picture of that horse and you would not believe the outrage and letters the newspaper received in the weeks following. It got so crazy, the newspaper had to print an apology. And all the picture was of this dead horse lying there and people standing beside it looking sad.

Now in my local Bangalore, India hometown newspaper, they had photos of the terrorist who blew up Rajiv Gandhi (former Prime Minister of India), after the bomb had gone off. They had found her head, two legs, and two arms, and they had neatly arranged it as if she were still alive and a photo was taken of the assassin. This was carried on the front page of a respectable newspaper in India. Heck, even part of Rajiv Gandhi's mangled body was shown in the accompanying photo layout. But people did not freak out there, nor did they write to complain. Rajiv Gandhi was an esteemed PM to many people, and surely his supporters would have been outraged at seeing their glorious leader and scion of India's Gandhi legacy lying there mangled in a photo. But I don't remember anyone complaining. I was shocked to see that photo, but later I realized that that photo showed it as how it actually was. With the horror and all intact and it really captured a lot of feeling and emotion of what had happened. I mean, we all hear about the tsunami's in Asia, but have we actually seen the human scale of destruction on any US news broadcast. We hear about 150,000 dead, but I have yet to see even one body on the TV.

I am not saying that yellow journalism and sensationalism is correct and that the dead don't deserve respect, but what I am saying is that sometimes we need to see what really happens when a tsunami of epic proportions hits a densely populated region. We need to feel the emotional connection to those people who died. At least for me, seeing something like this spurs me to take action to ease suffering of those who are still alive.

I remember back in high school, we were "forced" to watch this one video of what happens when people drink and drive. Mangled cars, horribly disfigured bodies, and all that. I bet you that after seeing those videos, many more of my classmates at least thought twice before driving drunk, or at least about wearing seatbelts the next time they got in a car.

I think we need to stop insulating ourselves so much from the reality of what is in the world. Especially being photographers who pride ourselves on capturing emotion and reality as it is and sharing that with others, we have a duty to encourage some types of journalism that shows what really happened, instead of the watered-down, lilly-livered journalism we so frequently encounter in the States.

Just my $0.02.

Thanks,

[Moppie]

pradeep1 WOW! I never knew the American media was that sanitized.
Here in NZ while there arn't pictures of bodies on the front pages of papers, they have been shown in news footage on TV, and in the main stream papers inside pages.
We also get the BBC, watching it the other night one reporter commented that everywhere you looked was a dead body, and it was almost impossible to get a shot with out a body in it.



Anyway, back to the orginal topic,
Iv studied Philosophy and Ethics for 6 years, I don't even think it would be possible to justify the tabloids use of the photo as ethicly acceptable.
But then the very nature of tabloids is moraly objectionable, and Im not at all surprised that one such paper somewhere in the world used such an image in such a way.


I have to agree with what Scottes said, its not the photo thats offensive, its the context it was used in, the why and how it was printed.

[tommykjensen]

I have to agree with what Scottes said, its not the photo thats offensive, its the context it was used in, the why and how it was printed.

Yes thats what the danish popoulation reacted against. The same photo had already been used in other newspapers but not on the frontpage and not used to sell more.

And thinking about this I think the publisher knew the frontpage would cause a rage because on wednesday when they advertised for the magazine in tv they just displayed a text saying that they had donated the cost for the advertisment to asia instead of the usual advertisment. I think they did it this way because they knew if they had shown the frontpage on tv in a comercial the magazine would never have hit the stores.

[Ikinaa]

If the tabloid you mention is a 'death sells'-magazine, the 850000$ lost aren't really lost for them.
For 850000$ pseudo-marketing, now the whole of Denmark knows the tabloid, people will buy the magazine next time they want to see blood, etc...
It's good publicity for them. I guess a standard campaign to make the paper known would have cost at least as much...
For this sort of magazine, the only thing that counts is selling as much as possible, and you sell if people think there's something of interest inside. And how many people do you think love these stories.
For those who know the german BILD-Zeitung, the content is IMO lowest-level, but the sell (I believe) 4 million papers a day. If you can read german, look at the online version (www.bild.de (http://www.bild.de/)).

[tommykjensen]

If the tabloid you mention is a 'death sells'-magazine, the 850000$ lost aren't really lost for them.
For 850000$ pseudo-marketing, now the whole of Denmark knows the tabloid, people will buy the magazine next time they want to see blood, etc...
It's good publicity for them. I guess a standard campaign to make the paper known would have cost at least as much...

Won't happen, people do NOT want to see blood and death in that tabloid. They want entertainment and gossip not death and destruction from the real world.

In any case everybody in Denmark knew the tabloid anyway so they have not reached new potential buyers. In fact they will probably loosse buyers and subscribers due to this stunt.

[Sketcher]

Pradeep

I completely agree with your post. Very accurate and well expressed. It has for some time bothered me that what is harsh reality in so much of the world is hardly given a mention or visual depiction in US MSM. The reality of 'life' throughout the world doesn't often visit the doorstep of American media; in the least it is not broadcast or published with other than tabloid efficacy.

In my cozy, narrowly focused American lifestyle I readily admit that I don't want a commercial, news flash or prominently displayed magazine cover showing me images that I can't avoid or have the option of whether or not my children see but I do think there is a need for responsible conveyance of reality.

Fortunately, I have family and friends in KL Malaysia, Philipines, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and I'm able to benefit from their experience via email and images. Similarly, they are able to get a glimpse into what is a curiosity to the rest of the world; that being a perspective of the United States from both the outside, and in.

I too recall a drivers' education film in High School which showed the horror of traffic accidents. Some of those images haunt me to this day. I recall that because of my young age my parents had to sign a waiver for me to view the film in class. From those whom I correspond with I've now seen video and images of the death and devastation in Indonesia uncomfortably close up; video that does not benefit from a kind segue to commercial.

I don't at all condone the sensationalization of horrific events or conversely the downplaying of human tragedy. But some kind of responsible venue should be available to provide awareness. Even if it does require a permission slip in order to view.

*Regarding the Danish tabloid; IMO, there is no honorable intention in displaying this tragedy in tabloid fashion. Perhaps it's arguable as to what can be considered responsible, but newsstand sensationalism is not it. Leave that to the finding of interplanetary life.

[pradeep1]

Well said Sketcher. Thanks.