Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard

During our class discussion about the AP's decision to publish this story:
http://www.ap.org/fallen_marine/story.html and the accompanying set of photographs, including one of Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard's mortal injury; a classmate questioned the contextual merit and the necessity of the photo in relation to the story. This question has been nagging at me since then - Is the graphic image of a fallen Lance Cpl. Bernard's necessary?

I find it hard to think that the impact of Julie Jacobson's Death of a Marine: A photographer's journal would have been the same without the image of Bernard wounded with 2 troops at his rescue. Jacobson's series of photos follow a very distinct chronological order, and I find that the series itself speaks more than the article it accompanies. Through Jacobson's article, I not only read what had transpired but got a first person visual on the reality of war and the reality that Lance Cpl. Bernard had to face in his last moments. If the image of a wounded Bernard was left out of the set, a major piece of a remarkably documented battle would have been ignored and the brevity of Bernard's loss would have been muted. People die in war, to avoid that fact would be irresponsible. The image in my opinion, was not overly graphic, gorey or excessive, but very necessary. These images give us faces to names - of American men and women who are fighting for our country as well as Afghani men and women who are fighting for theirs.

Another question posed to us in class was - What if the scenario had been different and Bernard had survived?

If Bernard had survived, I would feel differently about publishing the photo. Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard, was directly and adversely affected by the events caught in the image. To minimize any pain Bernard could suffer, we must consider what is at stake for him through recovery and in his future; especially if Bernard or his family were to specifically ask that the photo not be published. I may have revised my article and set of photo's to respect and possibly reflect the request of the Bernard family.

So this is where the dilemma lies, Bernard's father had expressed his disapproval regarding the image, so when does a journalist's responsibility to report the truth trump the request of the bereaved?

The section of the Society of Professional Journalists: Code of Ethics, "Minimize Harm," guides us in tackling such issues and the bullet point that hits home in either the hypothetical or real case is:

• Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief:

I can't help but feel sympathy for the Lance Cpl. Bernard's family, it would be callous of me not to consider their request and feelings - However, the SPJ Code of Ethics also begins by stating, "Seek Truth and Report It." Unfortunate as the Bernard family's circumstances are, there is a certain responsibility that journalists have - reporting!

Julie Jacobson's piece is not simply a "once in a blue moon" opportunity but a chance to report on events that are common in war but are rare in such a complete record. Jacobson's photographs provide an objective view of the war in Afghanistan. A war - Operation Enduring Freedom - which is America's longest currently active* war. A war whose coverage has been overshadowed by reports on the woeful economy, a historical change to our presidency, health care reform, H1N1 and unfortunately, Britney Spears.

The AP, despite resistance, made the correct decision to publish a first hand account of what happened to Lance Cpl. Bernard and his batallion - in doing so, the AP brought back mainstream coverage of a war that affects thousands of Americans and their families every day. Would there have been such a response to this article if it weren't still important?


Speaking of Americans affected, here are some links I'd like to share with you -
DOD's "Recruiting and Retention Numbers for August 2009":
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12964

DOD's "Casualty per Month" statistics sheet for Operation Enduring Freedom: http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oefmonth.pdf

*note the word "active" - the Korean War is technically "paused" because of armistice
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Just a little aside about me (for the sake of an introduction):
My name is Crystal. I'm a fledgling math student interested in statistical analysis, and will hopefully be able to use the skills that I am learning to generate numbers and information that will help the world one day. I'm taking Ethics and Journalism because of my interest in journalism (I'd like to minor in journalism) and the parallels I see between truth in numbers, truth in words and the importance of accuracy in both. So .... who are you people and why are you taking the class? :)