It's not the words that we remember

I just ran across a quote from President Bush while he was speaking to those gathered at the White House Press Photographers Awards dinner.

"When people think of historic events they don’t usually remember the words that were written, they remember the images. One photo may not tell us the entire truth…but it gives us a piece of the truth. One photo may not provide a complete history…but it gives us a glimpse of history…and that’s important work." –George W. Bush

I have fought the silent battle with many editors over the years trying to convince them of this very thing. How many of us can remember the name of the mountain where Joe Rosenthal photographed the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima? Probably no one...but they instantly think of that photo. What's the first thing you think of when you think of the Oklahoma City bombing? Not the many inches of copy that were written the day after...not the headlines...but the image of that little baby.

"A picture is worth a thousand words"...but a thousand words aren't necessarily worth one good picture.