Last week’s big local story was the death of two young boys from Stokes County, who drowned in the Dan River. First, they were missing. Then, there was the search. Finally, on Friday, the bodies were found. It is a sad story of two lives lost before they really got started.
Our Saturday paper featured a five-column photo of the boy’s grandmother grieving over their death. I’ve attached it as well (click on drowning.jpg) There’s no tiny bodies here, no death. Just pain. It is not an easy photo to look at. The sadness just overwhelms you. We’ve gotten an email and call or two from people who thought we were cruel and invasive to run this photo.
So why do we run it? There are three reasons, to my mind. First, I believe that one of our missions is to support people in times of suffering. The photo --and the story—speak to our shared obligations to look out for each other in good times and bad. Second, the strong emotion of this photo is a reminder for people to pay close attention to young children. Accidents happen and we can’t watch everybody all the time, but maybe this photo will make a difference somewhere. Third, it is a beautifully composed photograph, with different layers, full of life and death and hope. I keep looking at it and finding new details each and every time.
We had the right to run the photo, but that’s secondary in this situation. The fact that we can do something is almost always irrelevant to our decision-making. I think we had the obligation, which is the important thing.
Your host is Ken Otterbourg, the managing editor at the Winston-Salem Journal. It's a forum to discuss the media, from 
It is hard to judge the quality, composition, or potential impact of an image that is only 132 pixels tall.
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