Coffin photos

In the last week, the new administration has decided to lift the ban on photographing flag-draped coffins of soldiers returning from war. In the new rule, families will decide if their soldiers' coffin can be photographed.

According to Martin C. Even of Newsday, the previous ban on these photos was put in place in 1991 by then-President George H.W. Bush.

As a media person, I applaud the administration's effort to make the military more transparent. In the Newsday article, one mother of a fallen soldier said she would have liked to have the media at the airport because that meant that someone was acknowledging the sacrifice her son had made. Other mothers said these photographs could put the war in "human terms" for people who have not been terribly affected by the war.

On the other hand, those on the other side of the issue have valid concerns, too. In an article by Eric Timmons of The Register-Mail, one mother argued that showing these pictures was just hard on the family. The moment when the soldier comes home is personal and private, and she didn't want her son's coffin all over the front page of a paper.

Another concern with the new rule is that more than one coffin may come back to the U.S. at the same time. In this situation, one family could potentially agree to allowing pictures while another does not want anyone to photograph the solider's coffin. That could create problems because the photographer might not know which coffin is okay to photograph and which one is not.

In the end, I am pleased with the new rule. I think the photographing question should be up to the families since they are the ones being the most affected. Many of the families have strong feelings one way or the other so I think giving them a say in how the media will cover their soldier's funeral, etc., is the best way. If nothing else, it will probably give them more respect for the media since someone actually called and asked how they wanted the situation handled.