Rupert Murdoch Slammed for Controversial NY Post Cover Showing Man Before His Death

News Corp. founder and CEO Rupert Murdoch is coming under fire for Tuesday’s cover of the New York Post, which juxtaposed a picture of a man moments before his death with this headline: “Doomed: Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die.”

The Post’s cover shows 58-year-old Ki-Suk Han attempting to climb up from the tracks as a train barrels down upon him. Han was allegedly pushed onto the track by a man who witnesses said had been mumbling to himself before getting into an altercation with the victim.

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Han was unable to climb out before the train struck and killed him. His final moments were captured in a series of disturbing photos by a Post freelancer named R Umar Abbasi.

Murdoch, who owns the Post, was criticized on Twitter, with several people saying the cover was in poor taste and disrespectful to Han, who is survived by his wife and college-aged daughter.

One man tweeted that Murdoch “crossed all lines of decency today with their cover photo of father about to be killed by subway car.” Another man asked Murdoch, “Who want see his father, husband, friend, son, on a cover like this?” A man who lists New York as his home called upon someone at the Post to be fired. “@rupertmurdoch are you serious with todays @nypost cover?! somebody needs to be FIRED. PRONTO!!!!!” he tweeted.

Conservative blogger Brendan Loy wrote the cover “GLEEFULLY sensationalizes a human tragedy for PURE shock value – not news content. Shame on you, @rupertmurdoch.”

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The Post has defended the photographer against critics who contend he should have been helping the victim rather than taking pictures. Abbasi said he took the photos of the victim using a flash as a way to warn the train operator of trouble ahead.

The paper also suggested that Abbasi was too weak to be able to have pulled the victim up from the tracks, so taking the photos was the best way he could help. That has not slowed the pace of criticism, more of which can be found below.

@nypost new low for @nypost with todays cover.Way to go rupert murdoch… Really plumbing the depths of the human spirit

— sean edwards (@fly_kid_69) December 4, 2012

@nypost & @rupertmurdoch should be utterly ashamed of themselves. This cover is sickening digitalspy.co.uk/media/news/a44… #nypost

— Bradley Barlow(@bradbarl) December 4, 2012

The NY Post cover today crosses the line, IMHO. A pic of a man pushed onto a subway track right before he is struck and killed. Grim.

— Charles Ornstein (@charlesornstein) December 4, 2012

The @nypost and the employee who made the call to put the man about to die from a train on its cover are pieces of trash. Despicable.

— Lee Gerowitz (@LeeGero) December 4, 2012