VITAMEDIAS
Man of Nine Lives: Last week, the Columbia Journalism Review accused Times photographer Edward Keating of staging a photo of a six-year-old boy with a toy gun - and Keating may have made the situation worse by publicly pleading innocent after a Times editors' note dubbed him guilty of an ethical breach. Some observers assumed he would be fired, and on November 1, Times managers met with union reps to review the evidence and decide the appropriate response. Sources inside the paper say the matter remains unresolved. [...]
"Eddie is a mess," admits his friend, Times reporter Charlie LeDuff, "but at the same time he's a brilliant photographer. He comes back with the goods, and the goods aren't a hoodwink. I have never seen him stage, make up, or misrepresent a photo, and I've worked with him a long time."