Photo Editors Take Heat For Images

By: Greg Mitchell Haunting photographs of the aftermath of the World Trade Center catastrophe have truly upheld the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. But photo editors around the country are still taking heat for selecting some of the more sensational images.

The New York Daily News, for example, displayed what has been called one of the most horrific pictures ever published in America: a color photo of a severed hand found at the WTC. Editor in Chief Edward Kosner explained later, "It?s no time to be squeamish." The Daily News also printed a disturbing photo taken by staffer Susan Watts of people jumping from a top floor of one of the burning towers.

A dramatic photo of a single jumper by Richard Drew of The Associated Press was published by many papers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, often inspiring reader protest. The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson put up the photo briefly on its Web site -- and then took it down.

More than 60 people quickly contacted The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., after it ran the AP photo, some screaming. "There were many reasons not to run the photo," said Naomi Halperin, the paper?s director of photography, admitting they may have run it too big. "But one compelling reason to publish it kept coming forward: It was the truth. ? The most horrific part of this tragedy is the loss of life."

The devil is in the details

Then there were those who saw, in an earlier AP photo, the image of Satan, complete with horns, in the smoke pouring from the burning towers. They called their local papers to complain, to charge that the AP had altered the photo with devilish designs -- or to ask for reprints. The AP was forced to issue a statement saying it has a "strict written policy" against manipulating photos.