Award kept for controversial ‘corpse photo’

Comment

Media is no longer convincing

What this incident shows is that the public tends to not believe the media. From the “paper baozi” story on Beijing TV in 2007 to the award-winning photo-shopped images of South China tigers in 2008, I think these incidents have ruined the public’s confidence in the media.

– Werry Gui, news analyst on Hexun.com

Challenge for media ethics

For quite a long time people believed that photos always depicted the truth. But currently, dishonesty is a big problem for Chinese journalists and photographers; they should work under principles of uncovering truth rather than earning money. Media ethics have been questioned more and more by the public because journalists are increasingly working for money.

The latest incident of Zhang’s photo tells us that media ethics are deteriorating as we speak.

– Xiao Rui, senior editor of China’s Security and Law magazine

Spotlight hurts the victims

It is sad that the fishermen were beaten as a result of this dispute. Also, photos like this should stop winning awards because the attention it attracts reopens the wounds of the victims’ families. [The students] who died were heroes. They should not be placed under the spotlight for others to judge. It is not respectful to them specifically, and shows no dignity to the dead in general.

– Alessandro Vecchi, Italian photographer working in Beijing