The Power of Photos

A Million Hits

You’ve all heard the old adage: A picture is worth a thousand words.

Nowhere is that more true than with our photos of the horrendous furniture store fire that claimed the lives of nine Charleston firefighters.

In the last week, photos of the fire and the emotional aftermath posted on Charleston.net have been accessed more than 1 million times. That’s an astounding number that reflects the worldwide interest in this story.

In selecting those photos, our editors have tried hard not to step over the line between telling a heart-rending story and sensationalizing a tragedy.

We have had a few letters accusing us of being insensitive, but they have been far outweighed by readers and fire department officials thanking us for our handling of the stories and photos.

I can tell you that the response has been gratifying.