Kill Notice: The Botched Photo Story
Hmmm, can we please acknowledge it as a redherring issue and move on to more important concerns?
One of the front page news stories this past week was the botched photo editing job on the photograph released of Kate Middleton and her children. Kill notices, a relative rarity, and retraction alerts were issued by the world’s biggest news agencies once the photo editing was noticed. Apologies followed from the royal family which extended the life of the story.
Whether the editing was done by Kate Middleton herself or royal family staff, and whether it was well intentioned or a manipulation, are irrelevant to me. My question is: Why was it front page news at all? A minor lapse in judgement by the royal family is hardly our biggest concern these days in light of what is happening around the world. A few examples:
The Israel – Gaza War in which reportedly 31,000+ have been killed, 73,000+ injured and 8,000 gone missing. More than a million people are homeless and starving. On the Israeli side, reportedly 1,100 have been killed. Please understand that I am not taking one side or the other in the conflict. It is the humanitarian crisis in Gaza that wrenches my heart.
The Russian invasion of the Ukrainewhich is into its third year. The invasion has become the largest attack on aEuropean country since World War II. Ukrainian civilian casualties are in thetens of thousands with hundreds of thousands of military casualties. Eightmillion Ukrainians have been internally displaced and more than eight millionhave fled the country.
The political crisis in Haiti, one of the poorest countries on earth, which has the small country on the brink of collapse. Armed gangs, violence and looting have made everyday life desperate in this nation of 11 million. The resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry plunged the country into further chaos.
The homelessness crisis in this countryand around the world. 25,000 to 35,000 people are homeless in any given nightin Canada. Here in the Hamilton alone there are over 1,600 people who arehomeless. Encampments in parks and wooded areas have become all too commonplaceas these people struggle to survive from day to day.
I do understand that Kate Middleton underwentabdominal surgery and that there is concern about her health. But the botchedphoto editing job is a giant red herring in the world context. The factthat it occupied a place in the news, and competed for headlines and readershipwith the desperate situations outline above, is a sad commentary on the stateof affairs.
Let us please collectively issue a killnotice on that story and turn our concerns to the dire circumstances of somany people less fortunate than us and far less fortunate than the royalfamily. The photo of Kate Middleton and her children will be forgotten in a fewweeks. The desperate circumstances of people struggling to survive each passingday will resonate for decades to come.
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~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Untilthe Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which wasa double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’swebsite at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .
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