New York Post Cover: The Wrong Focus

There was a lot of talk this week about the New York Post and the papers' decision to publish a photo of Ki Suk Han moments before his death (above). Han was pushed onto the subway tracks in New York and was struck by an oncoming train. He died shortly after.

In my opinion there has been far too much attention and debate around the newspapers decision to publish the photo, rather than the tragedy itself. At the end of the day it is their job to publish news, however horrifying or ugly it might be. Did it need to be on the front cover? Of course not. Was it incredibly poor taste to run the picture with the headline "Doomed"? Definitely, but papers make money from printing the news so to argue that it's exploitative seems ridiculous to me.

The man who pushed Han, Naeem Davis, has been arrested and charged with murder, though it will of course be of little comfort to his family. The fact that he was able to slip out of the subway without anyone stopping him is shocking, but highlights the unfortunate truth that many people turn to sheep in crowded public situations. People have asked why no one did more to save him, but in all honestly how could you know what you would do in that situation? I don't blame them for not rushing to help Han, and I'm sure more than one of them regrets their decision

Someone who did know what they were doing was freelance photographer R. Umar Abbasi. He has stated he was trying to warn the driver with his flash. I find that hard to believe as the photo is perfectly composed, and in focus (did I mention he was running?). His job is to take photographs and sell them. Fair enough, but stand up and say that, don't try and argue it was an accident. He may be good at his job but the way he has continued to make money from the event by giving interviews to news channels is disgusting.

Shaun is a writer for ForeignStudents.com

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