'Seattle Times' Regrets Silicio's Firing, Doesn't Regret Coffin Photo

By: Charles Geraci The firing of military contractor Tami Silicio, whose photograph of flag-draped coffins of American soldiers killed in Iraq was published Sunday by The Seattle Times, was met with negative reaction from the newspaper. Still, the Times stands by its decision to run the controversial image -- and claims that Silicio knew the risks.

"I'm happy the picture is out, but it broke my heart when I find out she lost her job," said Barry Fitzsimmons, the paper's photo editor. "The Times is very sad that Tami [was fired]."

Fitzsimmons was the first at the paper to view the picture, which was sent to him by Silicio's friend Amy Katz.

"I knew immediately that it was something spectacular, but at the same time, I had great concern for Tami," Fitzsimmons said. "She was fearful of losing her job but she felt she would come out OK."

In several e-mails and telephone conversations, Fitzsimmons told Silicio that publishing the photograph -- which depicts more than 20 coffins of fallen U.S. soldiers loaded on a cargo plane at Kuwait International Airport -- could bring repercussions.

But Silicio insisted that the Times run the photo to show the tremendous respect given to the soldiers' remains as they were loaded onto the plane for the trip home.

Despite Silicio's firing, the Times doesn't regret publishing the picture. "It is certainly unfortunate that she got fired but she was fully aware of that possibility beforehand," Managing Editor David Boardman told E&P.

Katz is not sorry, either. "I absolutely have no regrets," she said. "The support I've received from the media and the public has been overwhelming."

Maytag Aircraft, the contractor that employed Silicio, fired her and her husband, David Landry, on Wednesday. The company cited a violation of government and company regulations in its decision.

Katz asserted that "Tami's husband had nothing to do with this. In fact, he was pessimistic about the photo being published," she said.

"I think this is horrible and I feel terrible for her and what she's going through," Katz said. But she added, "I also feel elated. Hundreds of people have said this was the right thing to do."

A former employee of Halliburton, Katz served as a contractor in Kosovo. "On a certain level, I understand the firing," she said. "I know firsthand the kind of pressure the Department of Defense puts on the contractors."

Kelly McBride, a member of the ethics faculty at the Poynter Institute, said, "This photo serves a journalistic purpose in causing the public to question the occupation of Iraq. The harm this photo causes is not to the families of those killed in Iraq but to the administration."

The Bush administration has claimed that the Pentagon ban on coffin photos defers to the sensitivity of the soldiers' families. McBride questions the harm done to families in this instance. "It's impossible to identify who is in those coffins from the information in the photograph," McBride said.

She believes the Times acted ethically in its handling of the photo and of Silicio. "Whenever a person is risking substantial harm to be a source, the paper has a responsibility to ensure that person is fully informed of the risks," McBride said. "Since The Seattle Times did this, they acted well within the bounds of ethical decision-making."

Silicio and her husband will be returning to the United States in a little over a week. There will be a press conference shortly after their arrival.