Last week New Yorkers were shocked (and rightfully so) by the demented act of a homeless man who shoved a subway commuter to his death beneath an ongoing train. One more event to add to the nervous fears felt by many. The New York Post exploited the event by running a cover photo of the victim before his death under the lurid headline: “This man is about to die.” A new low even for Murdoch gutter journalism. The New York Times ran a searching and brilliant analysis of New York Post journalistic ethics by media reporter and critic David Carr. It is a must read. All of this made HG recall his days as an editor at Hearst’s International News Photos with hundreds of photographers throughout the world at his disposal. HG was 23 years old at the time. One midnight, as HG manned the Night Desk, HG received a tip from a police source that a man was perched on the rail of the George Washington Bridge and threatening suicide. HG couldn’t contact his staff photographers so HG raced to the city desk of the Daily Mirror, the Hearst tabloid which shared the same floor with INP. The Mirror had received the same tip and had a young photographer, Bob Wendlinger, on the scene. They had reached him on his two way radio as he was driving to his home minutes from the Bridge. A priest had the suicide by the collar and a police officer had his arm outstretched for the man to grasp. On his knees, Bob focused his Speed Graphic flash camera on the man. The policeman warned Bob that if the flash of his camera caused the man to jump he would be charged with homicide. The suicide said: “My hands are cold,” wrenched free from the priest and fell to his death in the waters below. Bob took the photo at the instant the man let go. Bob wasn’t sure he got it so everyone at the Mirror paced in suspense as the film was developed. When we looked at the dripping negative on the light screen we knew Bob had captured a classic image: Clutching hands above. A falling man with his face contorted by the knowledge of imminent death. The photo was a sensation. Life Magazine ran it in a double page spread and it was reproduced in newspapers and magazines throughout the world. Nobody connected with that photograph ever questioned the moral questions aroused by its publication. The world has changed.
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