I’m a former journalist, and I’m concerned that the violent images comprising our news cycle might be inadvertently playing a role in causing more violence.
I think now may be as good a time as any in our history to review the nature of photojournalism, as Neil Postman, Aldous Huxley and Marshall McLuhan warned, and our potential as reporters, really drive-by idolaters of gratuitous violence, to exacerbate evil and its stronghold on the American psyche.
I’m not sure how I would go about remedying the problem. But I think it is high time we recognize the severity of news media’s unintentional gentleman’s agreement with violence everywhere. Who holds the fourth estate accountable?
Peter
