More than 60 readers criticized the Star’s decision to run a front page photo Tuesday of Iraqis celebrating on a downed U.S. helicopter.
Music teacher Donna Miller called the Star “unpatriotic.”
Mary Beth Davis of Oro Valley said the photo was “infuriating and in poor taste.”
Bart M. Filaseta called it “too big . . . it’s demoralizing to the public.”
Estelle Cangeme insisted that “The staged photo of Iraqi ‘civilians’ . . . confirms our suspicions concerning the news media being biased.”
Kenneth Cohen said the decision showed the Star’s political bent. “It’s utterly a disgrace . . . to show gloating Iraqis.”
Norma Luciano of Sun City Vistoso asked that the Star print something more positive. “The picture is so depressing.”
Said Dick Johnson, “The obvious liberal slant again showed its head in your choice to show this picture. ”
Jackie Richards asked, “How dare you lend major space to such a ‘celebratory’ event when buried further into the paper are stories of hardships and deaths of our men who are fighting for a cause that has been determined by our elected government to be necessary?”
Wrote Joseph and Kay Herbay of SaddleBrooke, “Am I in Iraq? I certainly thought so when I picked up the Arizona Star. . . . How happy Saddam would be to know that a U.S. newspaper would give such a picture front page coverage. It makes one wonder where your loyalties lie.”
After four letters to the editor voicing similar sentiments ran on Wednesday, about a half dozen readers supported the Star’s decision. Criticism continued at more than twice that rate.
Steven L. Baird, a teacher and musical peace activist in the band Altar Echo, said he didn’t understand the outrage. “Apparently these writers don’t want to know the truth, preferring rah-rah jingoistic everything’s-going-great reporting.”
Managing Editor Bobbie Jo Buel said editors were looking for a different kind of image, for something other than an attack photo, which had led the front page in the previous days. “There really wasn’t much discussion” about this photo, Buel said. Unlike many news events covered in the paper, this war does not have a single defining photo of the day. Instead, hundreds of snapshots of the day’s events capture but moments.
Assistant Managing Editor Teri Hayt, who oversees the photo and graphics departments, said: “It is impossible and irresponsible to tell this story without the Iraqi point of view or the point of view of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide who oppose this conflict. However, not one photograph should be published without considering the ramifications to the subject and our community. Our intent is always to inform.
“Our military has paid the price repeatedly to defend our freedoms, including the freedom of speech. As journalists, we value this freedom and understand the enormous responsibility this puts in our hands.
“I feel we serve our country and community best by telling the whole story. We will continue to do our very best to report fairly and accurately on this story. I hope our readers understand we know how hard it is to look at some of these photographs; that we, too, have family, friends, neighbors and colleagues in harm’s way.”
StarNet redesign
StarNet debuts a new look Monday afternoon. Here’s what you’ll find at the Star’s online news site, www.azstarnet.com:
- A wider page. Readers will see more news at a glance.
- Faster loading. StarNet reduced the number of graphic images so as to speed loading.
- More text options. A one-click toolbar changes text to small, medium or large fonts.
