The New York Post is getting heat for publishing a picture on the front page of Tuesday’s edition of a man trying to escape an oncoming subway train seconds before it killed him.  The headline reads:  Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die.  DOOMED.  Critics say the picture is disgusting…in bad taste and unethical.  I totally disagree.

In the 21^st Century newspapers are fighting for their lives against the internet and other mainstream and social media.  With that in mind a newspaper sells because of what’s on it’s front page.  That’s why pictures and headlines are of the utmost importance…those are the 2 key ingredients in getting someone to stop at that paper dispenser and buy the days copy.  You walk by and see that picture with that headline and you are going to put 2 quarters in that slot.  Is it hard to look at?  Yes.  But sensationalism sells….and we…the American people…are to blame for that.

Where I think the Post went over the line was with the headline.  Listen…pictures are worth a thousand words…that’s why this picture is so captivating.  But the headline of:  Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die.  DOOMED….is in my opinion…over the line and insensitive.  All the NY Post had to do was publish the picture and go with no headline….or maybe:  Why Didn’t Someone Save This Man?  That’s the bigger story to me…even more than the murder itself (the man was purposefully pushed and someone is in custody).  How could this man be pushed on the tracks and for 15 seconds not one soul rush over to help him get out of the way of the oncoming train?

The criticism of the Post should come because of an insensitive and appalling headline….not the picture itself.  Great pictures tell great stories….and this picture tells the greatest story of all:  The rapid decline of humanity in our world.