Dear Mr MacDonagh (Acting Editor),
Further to your recent extensive coverage of road traffic accidents within the area, I would like to discuss the necessity of you featuring graphic photographs of vehicle wreckage in the Dorset Evening Echo and online.
An example of some very recent articles:
10 August
Bikers seriously injured in Weymouth collisions
9 August
Biker still fighting for life following collision in Weymouth
8 August
Biker dies in Weymouth crash
6 August
A35 closed and Police search underway after six injured
6 August
Woman cut from vehicle after car collision on A35
6 August
Overturned car at Esso station closes A31 slip road
5 August
Man 75 dies in accident on A35
4 August
Serious crash closes A35 in Bridport
2 August
Crash causes traffic misery on A31
While I appreciate there is a certain public interest in featuring these stories, I question the decency of featuring photographs of wreckage, where people have been injured or killed. The impact such graphic images have on family, friends, neighbours and work colleagues is immense.
Under the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) Editor’s Code of Practice, it states that articles should ‘ be sensitive when dealing with cases involving grief and shock’. I strongly suggest that you are currently not considering the human tragedy of these accidents.
Back in January 2012, you featured on your front page the wreckage of my father’s car following his fatal RTA in Osmington. The devastation my family and friends felt for this intrusion was immense. I simply cannot put into words how overwhelmingly upset we were at having this image in the public domain.
My father would never have wished his six year old grandson to see the remains of his car, but the photo was everywhere to be seen in local shops and supermarkets. We couldn’t avoid seeing it and it’s not an image you can easily forget especially as the articles are featured on the Internet for many years.
My deepest sympathies extend to all those people currently affected by your current ‘ambulance chasing’.
When a loved one dies in these circumstances the last thing you are able to do is write a letter of complaint to the IPSO; But it is important that you understand the impact your current reporting has on the local community.
I would be extremely grateful if you would review your current reporting strategies and refrain from publishing any more photographs of this nature.
Yours Sincerely,
Lucy Wyman
9 August 2015
