Aftermath: The Bodies “Seem To Be Everywhere,” But Not On Television

Anderson Cooper kept talking about the bodies on Monday’s 360.

> “You find bodies just floating in the water. There’s a man over there who’s dead on the top of a car.”

> “The water is, as it recedes, I mean, it is going to reveal an awful lot of bodies, people inside their homes. You even see them now just floating out on the street one week after this hurricane hit. And it is still hard to believe the things you see every day.”

> “Heartbreaking too is the grim task ahead of the three mortuary teams now in place in New Orleans. It’s their job to recover the bodies, which seem to be everywhere, floating in canals, abandoned on roadsides, still hidden in flooded homes.”

> “We were out there today in a shallow-bottomed boat. And what we saw was just — I mean, it continues to just be horrific, bodies floating in the water, dogs drinking this water, dogs dead in the water, dogs starving to death.”

I’m seeing a lot of dogs on TV, but not a lot of bodies. I think I saw two during 360. How are news organizations reaching their decisions about showing bodies? Why aren’t more still photos being shown?

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