by
Paul Martin Lester
From (c) 1999
Life magazine, a publication responsible for photojournalism's rise in
respect, published an anniversary issue titled, " 150 Years of
Photography: Pictures that Made a Difference" (1989). American
Photographer (Squires, 1988), a magazine that regularly features works by
newspaper and magazine photojournalists, devoted its cover and over 30
pages to the subject of photojournalism. Marianne Fulton (1989), associate
curator of photographic collections at the International Museum of
Photography at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, was the
editor of a well-researched and richly illustrated book on
photojournalism, Eyes of Time: Photojournalism in America.
Jim Dooley, photography editor and chief for the Long Island newspaper,
Newsday, remarked that "newspaper photojournalism is in its heyday. It's
going through a tremendous renewal" (cited in Fitzgerald, 1988, p. 35).
Professor of Photojournalism at the University of Missouri, Bill
Kuykendall, also feels that there is now a photojournalism renaissance. "I
think there has been a rebirth," said Kuykendall, "of interest in candid .
. . photojournalism" (cited in Fitzgerald, 1988, p. 35).
Just as discussions of photojournalism have received an abundance of
media treatment, professional ethics has also received widespread
attention in magazines, books and from experts in the field (see Barrett,
1988; "Pentagon Probing," 1988; "What ever happened," 1987).
Ethical issues are hot topics in today's media-conscious society.
Questions currently debated in formats that vary from newspaper articles
to public forums broadcast on public television stations include: Is
insider trading a result of greedy individuals or does it foretell a
problem with the entire system of business? Are the temptations from
profit motives too great for government employees to manage without
outside monitoring? Should the organs from aborted fetuses be used for
medical purposes? Does the media concentrate too much on scandals or other
sensational events and miss the underlying issues that may be ultimately
more important?
ICONS WITH ETHICAL PROBLEMS
When photojournalism and ethics are combined as a topic for discussion,
Time magazine's, " 150 Years of Photojournalism" issue should be analyzed
in a more critical manner. After consulting with experts in the field, the
editors of the photojournalism issue reproduced in the introduction, "The
Ten Greatest Images of Photojournalism."
"There are hundreds of unforgettable news pictures," the subhead
explains. "Some record great events, others the small but resonant ones.
In our view these ten-images of war and peace, love and hate, poverty and
triumph-are the ones indelibly pressed upon the mind and heart" (" 150
years of photojournalism," 1989, p. 2).
Ironically, 8 of the 10 photographs have ethical problems associated
with them or the photographer. Another "unforgettable news picture" is
made more unforgettable through computer digital manipulation.
Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner moved a corpse to illustrate,
in separate images, a Union and a Confederate soldier. Robert Capa and Joe
Rosenthal were accused of stage managing their famous photographs.
Dorothea Lange and Alfred Eisenstaedt were criticized by their subjects
for not paying them for their famous poses. The pictures of Bob Jackson
and Eddie Adams were considered too gruesome by many members of the
general public. Gene Smith regularly posed his subjects and manipulated
his prints with a variety of techniques that included double printing. And
finally, in a demonstration of the manipulative potential of computer
technology, a photograph of the solitary moonscape portrait of Edwin
Aldrin by fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong is transformed at the end of the
issue to an invasion of the moon by a platoon of moon-walkers.
There is no doubt that for older Americans, the 10 images are among the
strongest and most visually memorable icons of the 20th century. A
committee from Britain or France might not have seven American-related
images. A group of younger students of photography might include
photographs more recent than 1971. Another panel might not have five
pictures that are war-related, a portrait of a destitute family, an
international disaster, a political assassination and a mercury deformed
child.
Ethical arguments are usually not satisfying. There is no clear winner
or loser when perspective guides a determination. But there must be some
way to defend your action to a reader who does not share your personal
perspective.
Writers and photographers for newspapers follow the same ethical
principle of truthfulness outlined in ethics codes. Journalists would view
as unethical a reporter who fabricated quotations. Likewise, a
photographer who uses darkroom tricks to make a false image would probably
be fired. The principle of truthfulness is easily defended by both writers
and photographers.
IT IS HARD TO HIDE A CAMERA
Ethical worlds often collide, however, because of the fundamental
techniques the two reporters use to gather information. During a
controversial news event, when a father grieves visibly over the loss of a
drowned child, a writer can stay behind the scenes with pen and paper
hidden. Facts are gathered quietly and anonymously. A photographer is tied
to a machine that must be out in the open and obvious to all who are
present. A videographer during the 1967 riots in Newark, New Jersey said,
11 a newspaper guy can huddle in a doorway or get it over the phone. But
we've got to be in it to get it" ("The riot beat," 1976, p. 78).
Long lenses or hidden camera techniques can be used, but the results
are usually unsatisfactory. Focus, exposure, and composition problems are
increased with the use of telephoto lenses or hiding a camera. Besides
being on ethically shaky ground, the use of hidden cameras is illegal in
Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Dakota,
and Utah.
The photographer, unlike the hidden writer, can be the target of
policemen, family members, and onlookers who vent their anger and grief on
the one with the camera. No call to journalistic principles of
truthfulness will convince a mob not to attack a photographer in such an
emotionally charged situation.
Because photographers must be out in the open to take pictures, the
photographer's ethical orientation must be more clearly defined than with
writers who can report over the telephone. A photographer must have a
clear reason why an image of a grieving parent is necessary.
PHOTOJOURNALISM AS A PROFESSION
Although photojournalism is filled with many dark moments, the history
of the field is also rich with pride and professionalism. Cliff Edom
(1976), one of the most well respected photojournalism educators in the
country, 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.
In 1946, Joseph Costa, staff photographer for the New York Daily News,
was elected president of the first national organization for newspaper
photographers, the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). Editor
& Publisher magazine at the time wrote that the aim of the new
organization was "to combine all elements of the working photographic
press in America to raise and maintain the high levels of photography
necessary to the advancement of pictorial journalism." Shortly thereafter,
the first issue of News Photographer, the official publication of the
NPPA, was printed (Faber, 1977, p. 27).
Academic standing, professional membership, and literature unique to
the organization are fundamental criteria for the definition of a
professional group. Since the early days of the NPPA, members of the
photojournalism profession have seen academic sequences begun at
universities across the country. NPPA membership has grown from a handful
at their first meeting in Atlantic City to more than 9,000. News
Photographer magazine has grown in coverage and stature to become one of
the leading trade publications in the business.
Another standard of professionalism is the amount of self-criticism
that occurs within the organization for the betterment of its members.
From the first issue of News Photographer, articles have been written, not
simply to introduce technical advances, but to critically examine the
ethical behavior of press photographers. From relations with the police to
the coverage of tragic events, ethical issues get a fair hearing within
the pages of News Photographer.
Reactions to controversial issues is a result of the underlying
principles that guide a person. Many times photographers and the general
public are on opposite sides of a philosophical wall. As part of the
journalism community, photographers see their role as providing readers
with a record of each day's events. The community at large is benefited.
That mission often leads to the taking and printing of disturbing,
graphically violent images. Such an underlying philosophy at work for
journalists could be interpreted as a form of Utilitarianism. Many members
of the general public, however, are disturbed by such images. Readers
often complain that they either do not wish to see such gruesome
photographs in their morning newspaper or are concerned that the pictures
will contribute to the grief of the victim's family and friends. The
underlying philosophy for those letter writers is most probably the Golden
Rule. It is important to understand that the two conflicting philosophies
have long been debated by philosophers without a satisfactory resolution.
Emotional issues find little room for compromise. Again, a person's
perspective guides a response to a controversial photograph.
The main concern of this textbook, the workbook, and the computer
program is to help you learn your own ethical perspective. Such an insight
will help you understand the various perspectives in use by
photojournalists, their editors, their subjects, and their readers. As
photojournalism heads into the next sesquicentennial, the ethical
principles photographers rely on, as never before, will be challenged. It
is vitally important, as you start your career, that you consider being an
ethical photojournalist. The photojournalism profession demands nothing
less.
Photojournalism An Ethical Approach
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is
sometimes filled, with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and
doing things historians usually record, while on the banks, unnoticed,
people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry.
The story of civilization is the story of what happened on the banks. .
. . -Will Durant
In a fitting tribute to the power and
prevalence of photojournalism images, Time magazine recently produced the
first issue in its history on a single topic with a single advertiser.
Measured from the dual technological achievements announced in 1839 of
Louis Daguerre's daguerreotype and Henry Talbot's calotype, the 150th year
of photography has been celebrated throughout the world with gallery
exhibitions and feature articles in all manner of media