Originally Posted by spacedog

To graphically display the horrific details adds to the shock factor in order to elicit emotion from the reader. By actively projecting this form of expression, it causes the reader to react outwards in response. Had the editor chosen to only publish the girls school photo alongside the article, the outward reaction would likely be passive, like, "Oh, that poor girl", whereas with the particular method selected, they entice outward reaction of anger, fear, sickness, horror, so that it is now active, likely to cause community involvement in reaching some sort of positive outcome in rectifying the issue.