Transcript The ethics of Photojournalism - snschool

The ethics of Photojournalism
By
Somrita
Vicky C G P
What is photojournalism?
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (collecting, editing and
presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates
images in order to tell a news story. It is now generally understood to
refer only to still images, and in some cases to video used in broadcast
journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches
of photography (like documentary photography, street photography or
celebrity photography) by the quality of timeliness, objectivity and
narrative.
If a photographer is asked to photograph a protest rally for a political cause
supported by the photographer. The photographer wants the protesters to look
as complimentary as possible. At the scene, there are 10 protesters out of an
expected 500. The photographer has two technical choices: use a wide-angle
lens to show how few protesters are present or use a telephoto lens to focus on
an individual who carries a sign. With such a technique, the size of the protest
group in the photograph will be ambiguous.
Photojournalism as a profession
Cliff Edom (1976), one of the most well respected photojournalism
educators in the United States, credited Frank Mott, dean of the Journalism
School at the University of Missouri, with inventing the term,
photojournalism. In 1942, Mott helped establish a separate academic
sequence for photojournalism instruction. For the first time,
photojournalism was considered "as important to the field of
communication" as its word equivalent.
Photojournalist
A journalist tells stories. A photographer takes pictures of nouns (people,
places and things). A photojournalist takes the best of both and locks it into
the most powerful medium available-frozen images. Photojounalism
basically captures the verb. But if we compare them with the journalist they
have to face lots of problems.
Categories of issues
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Hidden cameras,
Posed or re-enacted shots
Shockingly gruesome pictures
Sexually offensive images
Invasions of privacy
Whether to take a picture or help a subject in
trouble etc
Some of the important photographs
Joe Rosenthal's Flag
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An Associated Press photographer, 33-year-old Joe
Rosenthal, made three photographs atop Suribachi,
a Japanese observation post on the island of Iwo
Jima in 1945. His first picture became the most
reproduced photograph in history and won for him a
Pulitzer Prize. His second picture, although similar
to the first, did not capture a dramatic moment and
was forgotten by history. His third photograph
became the source of accusations that the first
photograph had been set up
The most reproduced photograph in history
Vietnam War 1968
Huynh Cong Ut's photograph of Kim Phuc and other children injured in an
accidental napalm attack
Vietnam War 1968
Eddie Adams' photo of General Nguyen Loan, the chief of police for the city of Saigon
shooting a Viet Cong assassin in the head.
From the code of ethics of the NPPA
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Treat all subjects with respect and dignity.
Give special consideration to vulnerable
subjects and compassion to victims of crime
or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of
grief only when the public has an overriding
and justifiable need to see.
Chronological list of a few famous cases
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Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Fidel Castro routinely
indulged in photographic manipulation
1982 National Geographic cover
Bhopal Gas Tragedy
1994 cover of Time magazine featuring
OJ Simpson
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TIME was making an editorial statement, not
reporting the news.
They presented what looked like a real
photograph and it turned out not to be real;
the public felt deceived, and rightly so. By
doing this, TIME damaged their credibility
and the credibility of all journalists.
From the code of ethics of the NPPA
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Be complete and provide context when
photographing or recording subjects. Avoid
stereotyping individuals and groups. Recognize and
work to avoid presenting one’s own biases in the
work.
While photographing subjects do not intentionally
contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence
events.
Editing should maintain the integrity of the
photographic images’ content and context. Do not
manipulate images or add or alter sound in any way
that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.
Kevin Carter’s photograph of Sudan Famine
Gujarat Riots 2002
Gujarat Riots 2002
Qutubuddin Ansari pleads for his life in a photograph that became the
face of faceless masses affected by the Gujarat Riots
Khushboo’s ‘Maxim’us Affair
2006 August: Adnan Hajj’s doctored
photographs show up on Reuters
Adnan Hajj’s second doctored photograph
Also improperly captioned
Examples of staged photographs
From the NPPA’s code of ethics
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Photojournalists and those who manage visual news productions
are accountable for upholding the following standards in their
daily work:
Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of
subjects.
Resist being manipulated by staged photo opportunities.
While photographing subjects do not intentionally contribute to,
alter, or seek to alter or influence events.
Do not accept gifts, favors, or compensation from those who
might seek to influence coverage.
The coverage of the Israel Lebanon conflict gave rise to the term
‘fauxtography’ (trivia,not in the code of ethics)
2006 November: Vasundhara Raje – Kiran
Mazumdar Lip lock
2009 February Vanity Fair’s photograph of
Heath Ledger and Christopher Nolan
Credibility
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Journalists have only one thing to offer the public and that is
credibility. Credibility is the only thing that enables journalism
to be called a profession and not a business
Credibility - some questions to ask
In what Context is the photo being used?
Is the photograph a Fair and Accurate Representation of the
information being presented?
Does this photograph Deceive the reader?
All of the above are John Long’s ideas
NPPA Ethics Co-Chair and Past President in 1999
Classic Ethical Case Study
A photographer is assigned to cover a fundamentalist
organisation’s demonstration in a city park. When he arrives, a
police officer is speaking to a crowd of newsmen saying it would
be a good idea if they left. He says, "Some fundamentalists are
going to be staging a counter-demonstration and we're afraid the
presence of the press will encourage violence." Some of the
newsmen leave but the photographer stays. Violence does erupt
and the photographer is later awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his
images depicting the fighting.
Some questions related to the case study
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Should a photographer stay at the scene of a
demonstration despite his presence possibly inciting
violence?
Should a photographer give up news reporting
responsibilities because of the recommendation of a
police office?
What is more important? truth telling or law and
order.
Incidents that can be discussed
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Abu gharib
Somalia
Iraq invasion
Gujarat Riots
Veerappan’s dead body