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'New York Daily News' cover causes outrage over graphic images of slain journalist

Mary Bowerman
USA TODAY Network
Reporter Alison Parker (L) and photographer Adam Ward (R) who were shot and killed by a gunman while interviewing a woman on live television in Smith Mountain Lake, Va.

The New York Daily News is no stranger to provocative images and headlines, but critics say the paper went too far with its Aug. 27 cover depicting the death of a journalist broadcast live on television.

The newspaper published three still images from a video uploaded by suspected shooter Vester L. Flanagan II. The graphic images show reporter Alison Parker of WDBJ-TV seconds before she was shot up until the moment when it appears the first bullet hits her body.

Parker and a cameraman Adam Ward were killed by a disgruntled former newsroom employee early Wednesday during a live interview with Vicki Gardner, executive director of a local Chamber of Commerce, in Smith Mountain Lake, about 35 miles from Roanoke, Va. He later posted the shooting on Facebook and Twitter.

The Daily News was not alone in its decision to publish the graphic images. Several newspapers in the U.K., including The Daily MirrorThe Daily Star of Scotland andThe Sun, used the images from the gunman's point of view on their Thursday covers. Others outlets, like the BBC and The Guardian said it would not publish the videos.

At 9:19 p.m. Wednesday, the Daily News tweeted, "An early look at tomorrow's front page... EXECUTED ON LIVE TV."

On Twitter, people used the hashtag #BoycottNYDailyNews to express anger over the cover. Nick Short tweeted that the cover was, "Glorifying [the] murderer & showing no sympathy to the family who has their daughter's dying moments plastered on the front page."

Another person tweeted, "In my 43 years on this planet, I have never seen a more reprehensible, irresponsible, disgusting front page."

Mike Drago, a commentary editor at the Dallas Morning News, called the The New York Daily News decision to post the stills "death porn," in an email to the Washington Post.

"Showing the victim from the killer's perspective at the moment of her death is beyond the pale of exploitation," Drago told the Post.

The New York Daily News' decision to publish the video stills on its front page puts a spotlight on the debate that faced newsrooms across the country: Should the graphic video and images of the Va. shooting be shared with audiences?

On CNN, anchors said they would show the video once every hour, while MSNBC and Fox News do not appear to have aired the actual shots, NPR reported.

Jeffrey Marks, the WDBJ-TV station chief, said after showing the video of the shooting once, they would not show it again.

"We are choosing not to run the video of that right now because, frankly, we don't need to see it again," Marks said on-air Wednesday as the murders unfolded.

Al Tompkins of Poynter said when it comes to showing the images, news outlets need to ask themselves what purpose it serves.

"It depends on why you are using the video and how you will use it and how long you will use it," Tompkins, a senior faculty member for broadcasting and online, told Poynter.

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