A senseless editorial decision

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 23 December 2012

The Nation faced backlash for publishing a front-page photo of Bashir Ahmed Bilour following a Taliban suicide bombing. The editorial choice has drawn comparisons to previous controversial images, prompting questions about media ethics.

Summary

ISLAMABAD:The Nation that upset the military by publishing a front page photograph of Pakistani soldiers beheaded by the Taliban has done it again – this time running a picture of Bashir Ahmed Bilour struggling for life.

Bilour, ANP’s central leader and a senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister was targeted by a Taliban suicide bomber Saturday in Peshawar and later succumbed to his wounds.

His picture, splashed in four columns on the newspaper’s front page Sunday just cannot be justified in any way. It simply shows lack of professional sense.

No other English daily published this photograph sent out by AFP in which the minister is seen being treated by paramedics. Most newspapers carried portraits of Bilour along with the story.

A vocal critic of the Taliban, Bilour was buried Sunday in Peshawar.

Back in September, The Nation and Pakistan Today ran images of beheaded Pakistani soldiers that infuriated the army. Both papers reportedly apologized for their senseless editorial decision.

KEY POINTS:

• Bashir Ahmed Bilour targeted by a Taliban bomber in Peshawar
• The Nation publishes a controversial photo of Bilour on front page
• Most newspapers chose to use portraits instead of graphic images
• Previous incidents involved beheaded soldiers also published by The Nation
• Public criticism highlights ongoing tension between media and military