Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em

News coverage of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut has riled the public, prompting some critics to lash out at journalists for exploiting and sensationalizing the story.
But most people haven’t a clue as to just how difficult covering such a story can be, particularly for photojournalists on the scene. After all, the public clamors for images and details and complains vociferously when the journalists don’t deliver. How quickly the conspiratorial theories of a cover-up begin to emerge. But as soon as the gut-wrenching images and interviews appear online, on television or in print, the same public slams the news media for having the audacity and callousness to present them.
Certainly there are no winners in Newtown. Innocent children and teachers are dead. A madman’s work has left the world stunned. A community has been brought to its knees and likely will never fully recover. Yes, some journalists went over the edge, interviewing children and witnesses with such zeal it was obvious getting the scoop outweighed any sensitivity.
It’s one of those can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em scenarios, but I truly believe those colleagues toting cameras in the face of such carnage are doing so for the right reason, and that’s to hold up a mirror to the society we have become.