Letter: Cover of 9/11 issue was offensive, unprofessional

I find it extremely unprofessional and insensitive to have used the image of one of the tragic and fatal explosions of the towers. It is disrespectful of all the families and friends that were directly and indirectly affected by the tragedy of that day, and insensitive to the American people. People don’t use images of car wrecks or freak accidents at their loved one’s funerals do they?

Instead of having used such a horrid image of a fatal event, why wasn’t an image of the new memorial used instead, or simply the American Flag? I am asking again for the writer of the article, and the staff involved in the choosing and approval of that image (including yourselves), to apologize for its use as soon as possible on a forthcoming issue of the Daily Cougar (noticeably on the cover), on your website, on twitter, and facebook pages. Not to myself, but to everyone that was offended and for the profession of serious journalism. As someone else offended by the image reminds us in the comments “ Codes of journalism: Harm limitation principle – Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.”

— Pedro