I'm more concerned by the heartlessness of running a chronically unsafe airline and glossing over the reality of the suffering it wreaks.
That's a good point. In general, aviation safety is amazing, and an emotional response to an accident (as after MH 370) doesn't help. In Indonesia, on the other hand, corruption and lax attitudes to safety seem wide spread, and political pressure to rectify the situation might improve things.
the bodies depicted in such images are not capable of caring about how they are treated anymore, though. i agree that often relatives get upset about images of their loved ones bodies being used in newspapers or tv, but sometimes the journalists have to weigh the public interest value of showing the image against potential distress. for example, the famous vietnam 'napalm girl' photograph. i'm not suggesting a return to 'if it bleeds, it leads' shock-value journalism, just pointing out that sometimes distasteful images have real value and should not be censored.
Agreed, but I think for the most part aviation safety is well under control, and there's not need to shock people into action. However, Indonesia might well be an exception.
Note also, though, that this only works if shocking pictures are used very sparingly, and only really to make an important point.