By EJN CEO, Hannah Storm

The image of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter Angie Valeria may become to the crisis on the Mexican-US border what the photograph of Alan Kurdi, the Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach, became in 2015: a defining picture that says more about a humanitarian tragedy than any statistics and policy arguments.

Mr Martínez and his 23-month-old daughter – named by some news outlets as Angie Valeria and others as Valeria – drowned crossing the Rio Grande, the river separating Mexico from the United States. In April they left their home in El Salvador with Angie Valeria’s mother, Tania Vanessa Ávalos. They hoped to claim asylum in the US and save up enough money to give them their own home, according to interviews with Mr Martínez’s mother, Rosa Ramírez, and reports citing comments Ms Ávalos made to government officials.

The potent image of the two lifeless bodies – the little girl tucked under her father’s t-shirt, her arm draped around his shoulder – was originally taken by Julia Le Duc, a reporter for La Jornada in Mexico and later acquired by the Associated Press, after which it was distributed and published widely.

The decisions surrounding the publication of an image such as this are many and difficult for news editors and raise numerous ethical considerations. Should they use the image and if so where and how? Should it be accompanied by a warning; should audiences be given the choice to see it or otherwise? What words and language should be used to describe the image and the individuals in it? How do journalists ensure they get the names and details correct about those they are reporting on? What added context needs to be given to the story of the conditions faced by families like this one? The words of Mr Martínez’s mother and wife gave an insight into his journey and the decisions he made, and a context to the photo, but what responsibilities do journalists have to those on whom they report in these instances and to those they interview who have experienced trauma? How do journalists minimise harm to those who see the image and to others – specifically the community impacted by the image? How did journalists ensure that this image is used for its news value and not gratuitously?

In this instance, it’s hard to ignore the news value.

The toolkit can be accessed here: http://e-learning.fra.europa.eu

The online Toolkit provides first-hand assistance to media professionals with learning resources, training courses, and opportunities to share and interact in three sections:

1. Learning: allows users to take courses in which journalists or editors of leading media outlets share their real-life newsroom dilemmas of reporting on migration.
2. Training: provides material for media trainers to design their own courses.
3. Sharing: ethical journalism principles. allows users to interact with other users through forum discussions on fundamental rights.

Users can also propose new courses or download the news examples for further discussion among peers.

Drawing on input from leading media outlets like Agence France-Presse, Le Monde, The Guardian, Radio France International, France TV, the BBC, and the Financial Times, the toolkit offers wide-ranging guidance on covering migration from different types of media.