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New York Times publishes description of Paul Johnson photos
On June 19, the New York Times published the following description of the Paul Johnson photos (link):
The most detailed photograph showed the head on the back of Mr. Johnson's body with a knife leaning against its forehead and blood splashed all over and around the orange jumpsuit he was wearing. Another showed a hand lifting up the head and a third, more grainy shot showed the body from a different angle.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s certainly the case when the words are trying to describe what a picture looks like. Just show the picture!
Among the arguments people gave for not showing the picture is that it’s not really necessary for people to know about them. What additional information do you get out of the story that you wouldn’t get if you were merely told that Paul Johnson was beheaded?
But apparently the New York Times seems to think that a description of the photos posted on the internet is newsworthy. Describing what the photos look like, but not printing them, only makes sense from the perspective that the New York Time has a political agenda. Printing a grisly photo would inflame Americans more than a written description. This is why, in a criminal trial, the prosecutors always want pictures of the murder victim shown, but the defense wants them excluded.
We are currently engaged in a trial of public opinion. The political left wants the United States to lose the trial of public opinion because they think that everything the United States does is bad. They think we have no moral authority to hunt down our enemies because we are just as bad, if not worse, than they are.
posted Monday, June 21, 2004
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