New Orleans Photographers Censored

On September 7th, Reuters reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), banned photographers from taking photos of dead hurricane victims. The FEMA censorship follows Bush’s ban on taking pictures of US flag-draped coffins of returning soldiers from occupied Iraq. Larry Siems of the PEN American Center, stated, "It’s impossible for me to imagine how you report a story whose subject is death without allowing the public to see images of the subject of the story." Precisely. What we are talking about here is not "news reporting" but "news management." Stopping photographers from taking pictures of the dead in New Orleans is not a question of impropriety or bad taste - it is a matter of shaping public opinion. Photos of dead American citizens zipped up in body bags - perhaps numbering in the tens of thousands, will serve as a grisly reminder of the ineptitude, callousness, and criminal negligence of those who hold power.

[ Update 9/10/05: CNN filed a lawsuit for the right to cover FEMA's search for bodies of Katrina victims. Rather than fight the suit, the feds have abandoned their clumsy attempt at banning photographers from taking photos of the dead. Read the details here. ]