It's not the image that counts, it's the story. Hey, it's a newspaper! If it had been available, a better quality image would've been nice, but sometimes it just isn't there.
Another "fine" example of this is
this shot of a Dutch politician that was shot in 2002 (warning: disturbing imagery!). This image won Robin van Utrecht the silver camera, a highly regarded prize in photojournalism.
Or what about
this (2007 world press photo winner).
This is news, not photography. Registration, contents by far outweighs phototechnical issues.