Graphically Too Far?

How far is too far?
Lisa Sandberg and Jerry Lara might have taken a gamble last week when the San Antonio Express-News ran their article, “Horse Slaughters Taking Place on the Border.” The story was about the slaughtering of horses, who are shipped over the Mexican boarder from the U.S.A on truckloads. Sandberg and Lara reported on the practice of slaughtering horses in detail—the photos were extremely graphic—and the story ran on the front page of the Express News.

There are many arguments to whether horses should or shouldn’t be slaughtered, but that’s not at the center of the ethical argument. What is at the center is, can a graphic article like this be effective, as the editors may have opened by running it on the front page.

The reporters took a gamble because the content of the article was not only graphic but there is concern it might not achieve the ultimate goal that the reporter and photographer were looking to achieve: spark the Congress to pass the “Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.” The important thing to note is that the editors placed a lot emphasis on the issue of horse slaughtering by placing the article on the front page. This says a lot about the power that journalism can have; here is an issue that many might not be aware of (I wasn’t aware of the extent at least) and the editors decided action needs to take place. This is, as argued by our founding fathers, is the piece that is at the center of journalism.

My only concern, even though I’m all for photography and graphic photography that gets the world concerned, I think people could be turned off by the photos. Sometimes the readers have to see a disturbing image or read something drastic in order to spark change however, there is an equal number of readers who could easily be very turned off by the article and throw away the paper or not dare read it. You know what though, people need a wake up call. After all, weren’t the photographs of Eddie Adam’s and Nick Ut’s that fueled revolution against the Vietnam War? And just because something isn’t easy to look at doesn’t mean you should look away.