© Charles AppleDetail from the original photo (left) and the News' version.
The
New York Post was derided Tuesday for apparent inaccuracies in its reporting on the bombing at the Boston Marathon. And now, its rival tabloid, the
Daily News, is facing criticism over an apparent photo touch-up.
On yesterday's cover wrap, the
News ran a photo taken by John Tlumacki of
The Boston Globe showing an injured woman lying in a pool of blood while being tended to by a civilian.
It was one of many widely circulated images capturing the moments after explosives were detonated near the finish line of the marathon on Monday afternoon, killing at least three and wounding more than 170 in a likely terrorist attack about which police are still scrambling to scare up leads.
But the version published by the
News seemed to erase a gory wound to the woman's leg that was visible in other publications that used the photo. On Tuesday evening, a link to a blog post exposing the manipulation began circulating among
News journalists, some of whom were none-too-pleased about the situation, multiple newsroom sources told Capital.
"If you can't stomach the gore, don't run the photo. Period," wrote Charles Apple, the author of the blog post and an editor at the
Orange County Register of Santa Ana, Calif. He also noted that Newark's
Star-Ledger ran the same photo on page one exactly as it had been taken by the
Globe photographer.
In deciding to run the photo, the
News was confronted with the same conundrum facing all news outlets covering the Boston tragedy, or any violent story for that matter: Whether or not certain images are simply too grisly for public consumption.
But in altering it, the paper violated a basic journalistic principle.
"Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images' content and context," according to the ethics code for the National Press Photographers Association, a professional society. "Do not manipulate images ... in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects."
Several
News insiders told Capital the decision to alter the photo came straight from the top of the masthead.
"Photographers and editors are so embarrassed and saddened by this," said one source.
Reached for comment this morning, a
News spokesperson would only say: "The
Daily News does not comment on its editorial decision-making."
A spokesperson for the
Globe also declined to comment.
UPDATE, 11:56 A.M. - The
News spokesperson, Ken Frydman, changed course on commenting.
"The
Daily News edited that photo out of sensitivity to the victims, the families and the survivors," he said. "There were far more gory photos that the paper chose not to run, and frankly I think the rest of the media should have been as sensitive as the
Daily News."
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