Discussion Topics:

Reply: 
It is a sloppy shortcut to use a letter to the editor as a source before you 
have corroborated the facts contained in the letter. How do you know whether 
the author is trustworthy? If what is contained in the letter is libelous, you 
could be on the hook for relying on it. 
    -Smith 

(Ed: To Smith, thank you. To John, well ... let me just remind potential contributors that this space is set aside for the exchange of ideas between professional or working journalists [preferably both, but either/or will do as well].) 

Is it ok to take photographs of the police notifying a family member that their loved one is deceased?  I took 3 photos of the family being notified that their brother had been killed at the site of an Amtrak train fatality where the victim was sitting, drinking on the track and was run over.  The family was waiting to find out if the victim was his missing brother.  THe police wrote a letter to the local paper and posted a memo criticizing my "poor taste - at best" for taking these photos.  I used a 180mm lens and stayed 30 or more feet away and the family did not even realize I took the pictures.  
    - Tracy 
 
Response: 
Tracy: Although you used a long distance lens, you showed a lack of compassion 
and sensitivity taking these photos. Why did you deem them newsworthy? How 
were you educating your readers?  Don't most people already know how people 
informed of the death of a loved one will react? It seems as if you decided 
you had an exclusive, and a compelling subject to photograph, but you stole 
from the family their right to grieve privately. 
      -Smith