Gothamist: East Village Death

R

Thu, 22 Jan 2004 02:10:19 -0500

I don't want to get into a debate as to whether or not I think it's morally ethical to publish a person's dead or dying body. I just want to say that at one time I was Jodie's close friend and to see her in this picture fills me with such pain, saddness and disqust! I was horrified when I heard about what had happened and have remained in a daze since. This was the ABSOLUTELY first website that I went to and to see her laying there was sickening for me. I personally wished it wasn't there.

S

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 19:32:15 -0500

I guess the question is if it were one of your friends who had been killed - and you knew her friends and parents and family - would you have published a photo of her dead body lying in the snow? The Post, WNBC, et. al. are news organizations. You are not. Does any of your regular readers think seeing a picture is the only way to understand that death by electrocution is horrible? I have confidence in your writing, Jen, and in your artful photos, Jake. Stick to what you're good at.

j@ake

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 16:07:42 -0500

It's hard to take you seriously if you think that showing a picture of a dead (or dying) woman shows "a lot of sensitivity and thoughtfulness." That's just... absurd, at the very least.

jake

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 14:24:59 -0500

we'll have to agree to disagree, though it's hard to take you seriously when you remain anonymous. i stand behind jen's decision, and i think it actually shows a lot of sensitivity and thoughtfulness. i don't think anyone would seriously question jen's commitment to the people and events that go on in new york- she's got a thousand times more heart than most people who have lived here all their lives, including me.

j@ke

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 13:30:11 -0500

Oh. I thought you guys might have had some sensitivy toward your neighbor. I didn't realize you were tying to emulate The Post. In that case, Job Well Done! You deserve accolades, not criticism. I bet you can't wait for it to become a Law & Order episode. That will be fun for you, won't it?

Jen

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 13:03:39 -0500

Ultimately, whether or not you agree with it, j@ke, it was a personal decision to publish the photograph. For me, there was something haunting and sad about it to me; the story became less abstract and more human. I imagined myself walking on that street and avenue I've walked so many times before, seeing that commotion, seeing Jodie Lane's body. You're right, j@ke, we're not an official news publication, and it's doubtful people are coming here for the straight facts. But in stories like this, we typically "synthesize" the information with a more direct approach, and this photograph happened to be on that the Post included, that I chose vs. flashing lights outside of Veniero's that WNBC posted. We're sorry if you are disappointed if you don't think you know Gothamist or our decision making process, but for Jake and myself, publishing that photograph doess fall in line with previous posts (we've included other crime scenes photographs in past posts; typically without bodies because very few newspapers seem to publish those photographs) as well as our interest in trying to document facts when possible.

j@ke

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 12:31:50 -0500

besides, i'm not sure that people read gothamist for a "a presentation of facts." gothamist is clearly a personal take by jen and jake of current stories in the media. if it was "documentary reportage" presenting the facts, wouldn't that imply that you and jen were going out there and gathering the facts and then presenting them, when in fact all that's happening here is a synthesis of other people's syntheses? this is your personal blog. it usually has some heart, and at least a passing respect for the subjects you cover, which is why i was suprised that you made the callous decision to post a picture of this woman either dead or dying. and then to couch it as "documentary reportage is just a presentation of facts" is just sad. and really ultimately disappointing because i always thought you guys covered stories that you felt a personal connection to.

j@ke

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 12:21:23 -0500

"documentary reportage is just a presentation of facts" jake, have you no heart? if this was your girlfriend/fiancee would you feel differently?

jake

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 11:30:52 -0500

yeah- i don't think there is anything disrespectful about it. death is horrible, and being electrocuted is horrible, but documentary reportage is just a presentation of facts. there isn't much difference between describing what happened in words and showing what happened in a picture, except that most people tend to have stronger reactions to photographs than prose.

Editor

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 01:47:11 -0500

I think at least part of the objection to the photo is that the woman is not dead in it. The article says she died en route to the hospital. Since she is still on the ground, she has not yet died. That is somehow worse than any photo of a dead body, at least to me.

candleblue

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 00:14:05 -0500

In answer to Dave, I guess the reason why the latter is socially acceptable while the former isn't is because a corpse in a coffin has been "prepped" by the morticians to look as good as circumstances permit, and is also being viewed in a context where one is paying last respects to the dead. Whereas a freshly-dead body tends to be in a somewhat undignified position, and is also being viewed at the location of death, titillating the voyeur vulture in us all. That said, the picture Gothamist has posted is small, was shot at a distance, and only a vague shape of the body can be made out. I can understand that some would find this, and any picture of a corpse, disrespectful; but as for myself I see nothing distasteful about using this particular photograph to highlight a disturbing story. In this day and age where the big attraction in NYC is a massive hole where thousands of people died, there are tons of other things I find more offensive.

Dave

Sat, 17 Jan 2004 22:42:18 -0500

The interesting question is why is that considered disrespectful? Why is it disrespectful to show someone moments after their death but to show people in a coffin isn't? I felt the same, I said woah, that's going a bit too far showing the image, and then I realised that I have no good reason for thinking that, it's just some inbuilt thing in my brain that I have no explanation for!

villager

Sat, 17 Jan 2004 17:34:08 -0500

Yes, that is her in the photo. I wish you'd take it down, too. It's very disrespectful.

megan

Sat, 17 Jan 2004 16:13:59 -0500

is that her in the photo? lets not have to look at a womans death here on gothamist. thats what rotten.com is for.

tien

Sat, 17 Jan 2004 15:52:59 -0500

sniff sniff...is that a lawsuit i smell?

PatGav

Sat, 17 Jan 2004 15:06:29 -0500

I've seen this story 4 times on NY1 (I'm too lazy to change the channel this morning). The whole thing is frightening. I'm afraid to walk down the street!

Mark Coatney

Sat, 17 Jan 2004 13:04:24 -0500

God. Can ConEd be sued for this? Should they?

Jen

Sat, 17 Jan 2004 12:59:19 -0500

It's both depressing and frightening... it's such a heavily trafficked street...and that this could be any corner? The city has to come out with some information about this, so people know the dangers and get proper warnings.

lauren

Sat, 17 Jan 2004 12:27:19 -0500

"Black said Jodi and Alex held rooftop parties in the summer and invited all the tenants. 'Everyone is shocked,' he said." Oh man. And I bet The Post has no idea...

Anthony

Sat, 17 Jan 2004 12:22:11 -0500

What a horrific story! And the poor woman was electrocuted just a block from her home, too. I'm still wondering how this could have happened...

Alaina

Sat, 17 Jan 2004 12:04:55 -0500

Jesus. I can't decide if that story is more depressing or frightening. As if trying to walk your dog on salted sidewalks (it burns their paws) weren't dangerous enough.