I've been wondering, when Saddam is executed, 
how many newspapers will run photos showing his hanging? With news this morning that his execution is likely to happen by tomorrow, it's a decision editors around the world will face today.
Generally our newspaper has a policy not to show dead bodies in our photos. But that's not a hard and fast rule, as executive editor Betsy Lumbye wrote in a column in August, when several readers questioned the use of an aerial photo that showed the dead body of Joaquin Figueroa, the man suspected of shooting a Fresno police officer and committing numerous other violent crimes:
"We'll continue to avoid pictures that show bodies and bloodshed, especially on the front page," Lumbye wrote. "But I will consider exceptions for compelling reasons or when the picture is not graphic."
Do you think The Fresno Bee should publish photos of Saddam's hanging? Is there some news value in that? Or does it depend on the photos? And are newspaper Web sites bound by a different set of guidelines? Is it not OK in print, but all right on the Web?
UPDATE, 2:13 p.m.: The Associated Press just moved a bulletin that a top Iraqi official says Saddam Hussein will be executed before 6 a.m. Saturday, Baghdad time, or 7 p.m. Friday PST, so this will be a factor in newspapers published tomorrow.
Why not? Newspapers published Mussolini's hanging at the end of WWII.
The wrong man and the wrong time.
The morbid side of human nature might want to see ... but back when there were photos of the man who was beheaded in Iraq -- I looked them up on the Internet and I really regret doing so. Even though I thought I wanted to see, it was really disturbing and I regret looking it up.
I also don't want to accidentally use the paper to cover the table during a craft project and have the kids start asking questions ... or getting ideas about ropes on necks.
I think it's best to err on the side of caution and not publish the photos.
There might some value in publishing photos of Saddam's hanging, but only if it sends the right message.
What message do we want to send to the world, especially the Muslim world? I could see great value in showing Saddam hanging side by side with a hog, then throwing his worthless carcass in a pauper's grave along with the hog. Videotape it and send it to every government head in the Mid-East.
Do we want to show "deterrence"? How about a public and televised guillotining ? The sight of Saddam's head plopping into a wicker basket is sure to make the evil-doers in this life think a bit. BTW, capital punishment is a deterrent. I promise you that once Saddam is lawfully executed for his crimes that he will be deterred from committing further crimes. I promise!
No. It would bring an inappropriate sense of closure to a war that never should have happened.
Besides, the YouTube regulars will have enough to view as it is...
And people think I'm crazy for collecting old horror movies...
Saddam's execution will diminish us all in the long run.
Our photo publishing policy online is slightly different than that in print. because people have to make an effort to visit the web site (thus getting away from the "my child saw that over breakfast" effect), we often run photos more graphic than what you see in print. However, with some of the more graphic photos we do put them behind a gate -- warning people before they click.
Also, if you'd like to see the prior photo survey, click here.
I wouldn't run it because U.S. newspapers -- under George W. Bush's policy -- aren't given the opportunity to publish photos of American military dead as they're returned home. Running a photo of the Hussein hanging gives the impression that progress is being made in Iraq.
Run a photo of Hussein the day you run a photo of the 3,000th American to die over there for no reason. A war that never should have started over weapons that never existed and a country that was never involved in the 2001 attacks.
Why not show the pictures? I'm sure he printed the photos of those he ordered killed because they opposed his dictatorship.
Show the roach swinging!
Showing pictures of the hanging would only cause more hate toward the United States and we are suppose to be the best country in the world. What kind of picture would that be for us as a whole? We don't need our children and our future seeing hate toward others. I believe that it should NOT be made public. Yes, we have started to mend and fix our country's problems, but showing the world our hate is another thing!
Who cares?
Who says he is dead? I did not see the dead body. The Bee showed his sons. He is being buried in an unknown location! Show the pics.
Do you think he asked his victims if should kill them before he ordered them to be thrown into a tree branch shredding machine? Let us see the maggot drop!
Yes, show the world how we treat and punish people like Saddam. It could be a deterrant of sorts. I would like to see the pictures.
I wonder, does this put the fear of god into the hearts of men like ;rumsfeld,cheney,poindexter,pearl,wolfowitz,kissinger,negroponte,..already, they are restricted as to what countries they may wish to visit,in many countries,they would be arrested and tried for war crimes,of course, the death penalty is rarely used on planet earth ,in the 21st century,but still...all of these guys were buddies of Saddam,helping to inflict him on the poor iraqi people,and as we learned,again,over the last 6 years "absolute power corrupts".what troubles me the most is that so many people in our community are comfortable with,even entertained by,the barbarity of a hanging.i suspect these are the same people who are comfortable with one million refugees,one half million dead,tens of thousands of american amputees,...so many funerals...this is a callouness that frightens me...and alienates the world.if you wanted a 'long war' you're doing everything right so far.
Everyone seems to forget the hanging of innocent people and their bodies put on display, I think he deserves the same treatment that he gave his victims. I am not sure that he is dead? Why didn't they show clear photos and more than one angle of his body, if they did it for his son's then why not him?