A look at Haiti coverage

Since the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, the news media has been constantly providing updates regarding the crisis. Major news outlets have created online pages dedicated to Haiti; with stories ranging from scientific explanations of the geological phenomenon, to profiles of humanitarian efforts, to character stories profiling individuals with a unique relationship to the crisis. With such an immediate and powerful crisis, the news media is trying to leave no rock unturned and approach all relevant angles of the event.

The widespread media coverage of Haiti reflects the levels of importance that the crisis has on local, national, and global levels. Haiti coverage has the nations attention and has effectively been brought into your community, your campus, your living room.

The Washington Post recently produced a photo gallery entitled, "World reacts to Haiti earthquake". This photo essay is a compilation of 82 slides, starting with George Clooney and ending in Taiwan. The images vary in subject and mainly focus on global humanitarianism and personal emotion. The contrast of united community and suffering individuals highlight the scale of the earthquake and how its aftershock is literally all around us.

I focused on this photo slideshow for two reasons. First, I believe it highlights how the press can literally convey the relevance of an event. When viewing the slideshow, you are bound to so many of the images through personal experience. The varied images speak to your personal ideology, morals, experiences, and pulls the global to the personal.

I also chose to highlight this photo slideshow in response to an opinion piece I read in the times about the purpose of crisis photojournalism and its ultimate goal. The article, "Face to Face with Tragedy" was written by Clark Hoyt, the NYTimes public editor.

Hoyt's opinion piece addresses criticism of Haiti's photo coverage. Many people have argued that the photo's being shown in the news media are 'sensationalist' and 'exploitative'. Hoyt cites one reader who wrote on the NYTimes website that, "If this had happened in California, I cannot imagine a similar depiction of half-clothed bodies splayed out for the camera. What are you thinking?”.

Hoyt discusses controversial images of dead babies, strung out corpses, and so forth. The coverage reminds me of a excerpt from Michael Herr's Dispatches in which he writes, " put in quote".

However, as Hoyt later argues, these images can promote global awareness and stimulate humanitarian efforts. It is an interesting question however, to think about photojournalism's role as a medium. Often photos are looked as complimentary to print journalism, however it is the images of the saigon execution or the flag raising at Iowa Jima that become historical markers recirculated throughout our history. It is hard to put your finger on what makes an image iconic but ultimately I believe it is the power to affect an audience and put into words what can't be said.

My personal belief is that the controversial images should be public and shown. When 200,000 plus people have been estimated as being dead and U.N. officials are saying an accurate body count may never been known, the need for symbolism is more apparent than ever. Photojournalism provides not only an immediate space for an urgent relay of unspeakable ideas but further a place for historical icons to form and speak to the past, present and future.