The public deserves to know the truth, no matter how ugly it may be.

There has been a lot of controversy lately over what the media can show or what they have shown to the public on TV and in the papers.

For starters, media coverage of the war in Iraq was one of many things that fueled this fire. Graphic photographs of deceased soldiers and Iraqi civilians, coffins and prisoner abuse make the decision to publish or broadcast these images a tough one.

Many believe that these materials should not be shown on the Internet, TV or in newspapers and magazines. The stories and images coming from Iraq are often considered offensive and in bad taste.

It is true that people should not be immoral or insensitive, but at the same time, the public deserves to know about what’s going on in the world.

News should never be kept a secret. It is good for a situation to be exposed so that people can decide for themselves what to do or think about the current situation.

It also a journalist’s job to let people know about current events. If certain photographs or stories cannot be published, it contradicts everything journalism is all about.

It also impairs journalists, along with the rest of society, of their rights.

Besides, nobody can judge what can or cannot be published, anyway. Everybody in the world has their own idea of what is suitable, and they set their own limitations. People need to remember that it is a choice to set these limitations, it is not a law.

People have the right to disagree with what a newspaper or a broadcast news show decides to use. If people disagree, they can look the other way, turn off their TV or not read the papers.

That leads to my next point: people aren’t dumb. They not only can think for themselves, but they can comprehend and handle the truth.

Even if they can’t, they should be able to know the truth anyway. The current situation of the world should be accessible to all who live on it.

It is a fact that the U.S. is at war. It is also a fact that people are losing their lives in the war in Iraq. It is surprising that people find it offensive to acknowledge the deaths of soldiers.

Besides the deaths of soldiers, there are many other terrible things that are happening in Iraq right now.

There are also dangerous and controversial scenarios happening all over the world. How will we be able to even get close to solving any of these problems if we don’t know about them? An even worse scenario is if we just deny or ignore our current problems.

At the same time, allowing the freedom for the media to show these materials also means giving newspapers and TV channels the option of choosing not to share the information.

I hope that not all of the media chooses to do this. Being a journalism student, I definitely believe in freedom of the press.

The right to choose goes to readers and viewers. They are the only ones who can decide what they will let themselves see or hear.

The key here is freedom, especially freedom of choice.