Images are just as powerful and sometimes more powerful than words when telling stories.
Imagine a writer trying explain a tragic accident. Now imagine the writer has a picture of a shoe a that flew off the foot of a passenger in the accident. This image will immensely emphasize the extent to which people were injured.
A certain artistic sense of concept is necessary to use photography effectively. One must understand what will draw emotion from the audience, and what will further convey the message the article is trying to send.