Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Video of the death of Neda Agha Soltan, who was shot in the chest as she stood near a peaceful protest in Tehran this Saturday, has become a potent symbol, spreading worldwide through social websites and news media alike. In the second in a series of guest posts, Iranian-American poet and journalist Roya Hakakian addresses what journalists should consider in using these disturbing, powerful images.

What else is there to do amid a crisis that has been cordoned off from view? Hypothetically, the question could have applied to a situation where a variety of other material — graphic and non-graphic — was equally available and then a journalists had to struggle with the notion of which to choose. As it is, reporters have been thrown out of Iran. Most are watching Iran from another country, UAE's Dubai, and the few who remain have been told to stay inside their hotel rooms. Those who have disobeyed, like Time's Maziar Bahari and freelancer Iason Athanasiadis, are languishing in Iran's prisons. Under the circumstances, shouldn't our first concern be to gather, air, and publish every little bit that we can? Journalists are no beggars, but dictatorships don't allow them to be choosers either.

Read the first post in this series, where NYU professor Fred Ritchin considers the history of violent news images.