by
Paul Martin Lester
From (c) 1999
Ethical problems arise for photographers and editors because readers
are also repulsed by such events. It is as if readers want to know that
tragic circumstances take place, but do not want to face the uncomfortable
details.
After the publication of a controversial picture that shows, for
example, either dead or grieving victims of violence, readers in telephone
calls and in letters to the editor, often attack the photographer as being
tasteless and adding to the anguish of those involved. As one writer
noted, "The American public has a morbid fascination with violence and
tragedy, yet this same public accuses journalists of being insensitive and
cynical and of exploiting victims of tragedy" (Brown, 1987, p. 80).
The Immediate Impact of Images
Photographs have long been known to spark more emotional responses than
stories. Eugene Goodwin (1983) in his book, Groping for Ethics agreed.
Goodwin wrote, "Pictures usually have more impact on people than written
words. Their capacity to shock exceeds that of language" (p. 190). Other
researchers have noted the eye catching ability of newspaper photographs.
Miller (1975) wrote, "Photos are among the first news items to catch the
reader's eye. . . . A photo may catch the eye of a reader who doesn't read
an accompanying story" (p. 72). Blackwood (1983) argued that "People who
either can't read, or who don't take the time to read many of the stories
in newspapers do scan the photographs . . . " (p. 711). Nora Ephron (1978)
asserted that disturbing accident images should be printed. "That they
disturb readers," Ephron wrote, "is exactly as it should be: that's why
photojournalism is often more powerful than written journalism" (p. 62).
When U.S. servicemen were killed in Iran during the 1980 attempt to
rescue American hostages, gruesome images of the char-red bodies were
transmitted to American newspapers. Ombudsman George Beveridge of the
defunct Washington Star defended his paper's publication of the
photographs by writing, "newspapers were obliged to print them because
they gave readers a dimension of understanding of the situation and the
people involved that written words could not possibly convey" (cited in
Gordon, 1980, p. 25). For Beveridge, if photographs accurately and
dramatically document a news event, even though their content may be
gruesome, those pictures should be printed. Beveridge is probably using
the Categorical Imperative philosophy. Nevertheless, newspapers received
hundreds of calls and letters protesting the use of the images. A
Mississippi newspaper editor tore the pictures up when he saw them because
he explained it would have been "the poorest kind of taste to display
those ghastly pictures" (p. 28). The editor was most likely guided by the
Golden Rule philosophy.
HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK
Because a photograph can immediately shock, educate, or enlighten a
reader, visual impact has long been used by journalists. The emotional
impact of the first war covered by photographs, the Crimean War, was low
by today's standards. Roger Fenton, forced to use the slow film and lenses
of that day, captured only static portraits and battlefield images. If
Fenton's motivation for taking pictures was to educate the public, he was
employing a Utilitarian perspective. Mathew Brady, recognized for his
portraits of famous politicians that included President Lincoln, spent his
entire family's income to employ photographers to document the Civil War.
Brady hoped the pictures would be purchased in galleries for peoples' home
photo albums or by the government. If Brady's guiding philosophy, as a
businessman, was to make money from the pictures, he used the Hedonistic
philosophy. Americans, however, had grown weary of the wrenching Civil War
that divided the nation. Few were interested in static pictures taken with
slow film and lenses of battlefield configurations, portraits of soldiers,
and bodies mutilated by the arms of destruction.
Jacob Riis Illustrates His Words
Danish immigrant, Jacob Riis, a reporter for the New York World,
saw what he considered to be inhumane treatment of the nation's poor and
homeless by an insensitive government bureaucracy in the later part of the
19th century. He wrote of the dire conditions unfortunate individuals face
on the streets of New York for his newspaper. He became frustrated when,
despite favorable reception to his articles, relief for the poor never
came. Riis decided that photographs were necessary to show public
officials and the general public the horror of the back alleys and the
flop houses. Riis, along with photographers he hired, most notably,
Richard Hoe Lawrence, made photographs that brought light (literally
magnesium powder that was ignited) to the dank, dark, dingy police
stations and saloons. Riis gave public lectures, this time with images
mounted on glass slides. The impact of his visual message shaped public
opinion and helped make changes. Shortly thereafter, Riis published one of
the first books to combine words and pictures in a documentary format,
How the Other Half Lives (cited in Pollack, 1977, p. 91).
The Era of Sensationalism
The turn of the century brought the highlight of yellow or "Front Page"
style journalism. Visual images played a crucial part in this era known
for its sensationalism. Frank Mott (1962), in his history of journalism,
noted that the reporting of crime news and disasters with the "lavish use
of pictures" was a factor that helped define the yellow journalism period
(p. 539).
Publishers such as William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were locked into
a bitter circulation struggle. Their use of shocking and gruesome
photographs, regularly featured large on their front pages, was imitated
by other publishers throughout the country. The popular belief of the day
was that potential newspaper buyers looking for visual amusement, would be
attracted to pages filled with photographs. Such a money-oriented,
Hedonistic philosophy, contributed to an era where any type of visually
stimulating event was fair game for an enterprising photographer. Much of
the poor reputation bestowed upon the photojournalism profession was a
result of excesses during this time.
Collier magazine photojournalist, Jimmy Hare produced striking images
of the Spanish-American War. Fellow reporter, Cecil Carnes wrote that Hare
"photographed swollen bodies with bones breaking through the skin; he took
pictures of the emancipated living, and of the babies ravaged by disease
(cited in Edom, 1976, p. 3 1). Such images were not used by publishers to
educate or explain the war to readers, but to drum up support for a
controversial conflict.
Joseph Costa of the New York Daily News, shocked readers with
his sneaked picture of a man whipped in a Baltimore jail for beating his
wife (cited in Edom, 1976). He later made up for his young recklessness by
becoming the first president of the NPPA and teaching photojournalism at
universities.
Although many of their images were censored by government officials,
photographers during World War II produced many dramatic visual documents.
A picture cooperative was formed by Acme, Associated Press, International
News, and Life magazine to cover land and sea battles for use in
publications. Photographers such as Gene Smith and Robert Capa were famous
for capturing emotionally charged moments.
One photograph that was delayed for several weeks by censors concerned
for the public's reaction was published inLife. Captioned, "Here
lie three Americans . . . ." George Strock's shocking picture of the
maggot covered bodies of U.S. servicemen face down in the sand of a
distant island's beach was the first picture of killed American soldiers
published in a U.S. magazine. Many readers were stunned by the visually
graphic image. But Susan Moeller (1989) in her chronicle of war
photography, Shooting War, noted that many soldiers praised the
photograph and the accompanying editorial. A lieutenant wrote, "Your
Picture of the Week is a terrible thing, but I'm glad that there is one
American magazine which had the courage to print it." A private wrote,
"This editorial is the first thing I have read that gives real meaning to
our struggle" (p. 207).
World War II was the last major conflict in which photographers were on
the same side as the government. The Korean and Vietnam Wars produced
films and photographs that brought home the terror like never before on a
daily basis. David Douglas Duncan produced sensitive, almost romantic
portraits of American servicemen in Korea. Duncan was criticized for his
many sanitized views of war by those who thought Americans at home should
know the realities of war-that men were dying. Gradually, Duncan came to
reject the government's handling of the war and took an anti-war position.
Many critics, however, mistook his pro-soldier pictures for a pro-war
attitude.
The Disturbing Images from Vietnam
Perhaps due to political uncertainty about America's role or a younger
crop of photojournalists who were willing to show the worst moments, films
and still pictures from the Vietnam War were the most graphically brutal
in war-time photographic history. Many photographs taken during the
Vietnam War not only startled, but were responsible for helping to change
the American public's opinion against that conflict.
In the Spring of 1963, Malcolm Browne of the Associated Press, received
a telephone call to come to a public memorial service for Buddhist monks.
Eight people had been killed during a recent demonstration against the
South Vietnamese government's crackdown on their religion. The series of
pictures he made at that service is unforgettable. In deliberate silence,
two monks poured gasoline on a sitting third monk and set the man on fire.
Browne made pictures of violent flames that engulfed the protester who
never uttered a sound. Horrified readers in the world's newspapers viewed
this series the next day (cited in Faber, 1983, p. 10).
Eddie Adams' frozen moment of death is another unforgettable instant.
In the Winter of 1968, General Nguyen Loan, the chief of police for the
city of Saigon, fired his revolver through the temple of a Viet Cong
soldier. The soldier was suspected in the killing of Loan's best friend, a
police major, and knifing to death the major's wife and six children. At
1/500th of a second, Adams captured the swift judgment and brutal
execution of a policeman's prisoner and sparked additional protest against
America's involvement in the war. According to Time magazine photographer,
Bill Pierce (1983), Adams never accepted the Pulitzer Prize money or
seldom talks publicly about the image.
Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut's terrifying image of young children running
toward the camera with open mouths and fire scorched arms held awkwardly
away from their sides is all the more horrible when it is known that their
injuries were a result of an accidental napalm attack by South Vietnamese
forces. The girl in the picture, Kim Phuc, and Ut were happily reunited 17
years after the picture was taken in Havana, Cuba (Wilson, 1989).
Violent Photographs of the 1960s
During this same turbulent decade, visual images continued to isolate
some of the most strikingly terrifying moments in American history. Bob
Jackson of the Dallas Times-Herald captured the political
assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald by the man with the gray hat and the
easily concealed revolver, Jack Ruby. Jackson's awful moment is an
American icon. In one picture, it shows the hunched determination of the
assassin, the painful gasp of the handcuffed victim, and the shock of
helplessness on the face of a policeman.
Bill Eppridge and Boris Yaro were both covering Robert Kennedy's
campaign speech after the California presidential primary. For many
persons, Kennedy symbolized the hope that America would overcome the shock
of a presidential assassination, a seemingly endless and costly foreign
war, riots in cities across the country, and finally, the assassination of
the leading African-American spokesman, Martin Luther King, two months
previously. Who can forget, amid the technical problems of harsh lighting
and the grainy appearance of push-processed film, the image of a caring
busboy cradling the head of a man he never met. The loss seen on his face
symbolizes all the world's loss.
In the Bible belt of America, John Filo, a college student with a
borrowed camera, summed up many Americans' anguish over the Vietnam War in
one angry photograph. The National Guard was called to the campus of Kent
State University in Ohio to quiet a series of demonstrations against
military involvement in Vietnam and Cambodia in 1970. Filo captured the
image of Mary Vecchio kneeling over the bloodied body of Jeffery Miller.
Vecchio seems to be screaming the hauntingly simple question, "Why?"
Vecchio, a 14-year-old runaway from Florida, was accused by Florida's
Governor Claude Kirk of being planted by the Communists. The notoriety
brought media attention to her subsequent troubles with the law. It was
reported, for example, when she ran away from home again, when she was
sent to a juvenile home, and when she was arrested for loitering and
marijuana possession. She later admitted that the picture "destroyed my
life" (Bell, 1990).
Interestingly, moving films shown to television audiences were made at
the same time during the Adams, Ut, Jackson, and other dramatic news
events, but it is the powerful stillness of the frozen, decisive moment
that lives in the consciousness of all who have seen the photographs. The
pictures are testaments to the power and the sanctity of the still, visual
image. Malcolm Mallette (1976) wrote that "the electronic image flickers
and is gone. The frozen moment . . . remains. It can haunt. It can hurt
and hurt again. It can also leave an indelible message about the
betterment of society, the end of war, the elimination of hunger, the
alleviation of human misery" (p. 120).
The Public Suicide of Budd Dwyer
Editors have noticed that when emotionally charged and gruesome
pictures come from a local event, readers react the strongest. A mother
grieving over a drowned child in Bangladesh will not produce the same
level of reactions as an identical subject in a reader's home town.
Pennsylvania State Treasurer, Budd Dwyer had just been convicted of
bribery. Journalists from several newspapers, news services, and
television stations gathered around a small podium that sat on a table
expecting to hear Dwyer announce his resignation from state government.
What they heard were the long, rambling last words of a seriously troubled
man. Dwyer pulled out a .357 magnum, long barrel pistol, waved back
reporters, stuck the revolver in his mouth, pulled the trigger and ended
his torment. His desperate act also created torment with editors around
the country who were left with some hard questions: Should any pictures be
used? Should more graphic or less graphic pictures be used? Should only
one or a complete series of pictures be printed? On what page should the
pictures be displayed? How large should the pictures be? Should color or
black-and-white pictures be used?
Journalism researcher Robert Baker (1988) found that among the 93 daily
newspapers he studied, "Newspapers more than 200 miles away from the
victim's hometown were two-and-a-half times as likely to use the 'very
graphic' photographs than those within 100 miles" (p. 21). Editors were
more likely to use the most gruesome images the further they were from the
event.
Robert Kochersberger (1988), another journalism researcher, also looked
at the Dwyer suicide photo use. He found a trend toward sensitivity to the
publishing of the graphic suicide pictures. For him, this result may
suggest the "abandoning [of I the time-worn patterns of 'Front Page'-style
journalism that would have called for using the graphic photos with little
second thought" (p. 9).
As evidence of this new sensitivity, Kochersberger cited two editors.
"Jess Garber, managing editor of the Record Herald, Waynesboro,
PA., wrote, 'I believe in the public's right to know but am not sure that
carries to seeing a distraught person blowing his brains out' " (p. 8).
"John Wellington, managing editor of the Meadville Tribune,
published in Dwyer's home town, wrote . . . 'Would anyone with half a
whit of common sense want graphic suicide pictures imposed on his or her
children? I would not' " (p. 9).
Apparently, many editors disagreed with Garber and Wellington. Baker's
(1988) data shows that "very graphic" suicide photographs were used by up
to 58% of newspapers in his survey in one of his demographic categories.
Editors that used the ,'very graphic" images justified their publication
with statements such as, "'Photos had tremendous impact as a news story' "
and "'We used the photo to show a bizarre news event. It's not normal for
a person to shoot himself at the end of a news conference' "
(Kochersberger, 1988, p. 7-8). Once again, opposing philosophies are at
work. One group of editors would most likely side with the Veil of
Ignorance or Golden Rule philosophies. Another group would probably side
with the Categorical Imperative philosophy.
Reasons for Reader Reactions
Some writers fear that readers become callused by the many images of
the dead and dying shown in the media. Bill Hodge (1989), past president
of the NPPA, recently wrote, "There's a change occurring among our
audiences. I see a desensitized viewer and reader that is harder to offend
or shock. They seem to be more immune to-or more interested in-shocking
things" (p. 14). Hodge cited such "Trash TV" shows led by Geraldo Rivera
and Oprah Winfrey that regularly feature programs that test the public's
sensitivity.
There is some concern among professionals that the real culprit in the
controversy over gruesome images is not the content, but whether the
picture is printed in color. Readers of the Minneapolis Star Tribune
complained about several graphically descriptive pictures that were
printed in color. One caller said, "Color should be something beautiful."
Another reader complained that an image of a bleeding Arab mayor "needed
black and white." Lou Gelfand (1989), ombudsman for the Star Tribune
reported that former chief photographer, Earl Seubert "says color is
the cause of most of the response. Some of the . . . pictures ran in
black-and-white in an early edition and looked comparatively dull." Color
may be a contributing factor to a reader's reaction, but readers are still
moved by dramatic black-and-white content.
Many readers, editors note, complain when a graphically violent picture
is published in the morning, rather than the evening paper. For some
readers, there is a sacredness about the first meal of the day. A typical
response can be found from a Minneapolis reader who admitted, "I can't
handle that kind of picture with breakfast" (Gelfand, 1989, p. 12).
Another contributing factor to a reader's negative reaction to a
controversial photograph is the reader's perception of the respect given
to the victim and the family. An image of a photographer at a funeral
wearing blue jeans and an open-collared shirt and hovering over a casket
with a wide-angle tens for a close-up, gives readers the impression that
the photographer has little respect for the subject. Of course, an editor
will seldom print that uncomplimentary portrait.
An editor can show disrespect in the eyes of some readers, however, by
running a picture extremely large on the front page or with only a brief
caption explanation. Readers associate the importance given to a
photograph with a story that accompanies it. When readers objected to a
picture of a man killing a calf with a pistol during a mass slaughter of
cattle during a protest over the cost of raising beef, Bill Cento of the
St. Paul Dispatch and Pioneer Press said, "The story ran across the top of
page one, but we ran the picture inside. A mistake, I believe. The words
are needed to tell why it was done. The picture most forcefully tells that
it was done" (Mallette, 1976, p. 118). Whenever possible, stories and
photographs should be located on the same page.
One heartening note: Readers will voice their negative comments about a
picture regardless of the victim's race or gender characteristics. Readers
seem to be equal opportunity commentators. Many of the most controversial
images printed in newspapers in the past 15 years have received reader
wrath with subjects who were men, women, African-American, Asian,
Caucasian, or Hispanic.
A FAMILY'S TRAGEDY BECOMES PUBLIC
One of the best ways for an editor to learn if readers have grown
callused and insensitive is to take note of the calls and letters produced
after the printing of a controversial image. When an image offends, an
editor knows of it quickly. It is almost reassuring, then, to learn that
photographs still have the power to offend readers-particularly an image
of a drowned child with distraught family members standing over the body.
The editors of the Bakersfield Californian, an
80,000-circulation newspaper, heard loud and clear the anger of readers
over a remarkable photograph. The paper received 500 letters, 400 phone
calls, 80 subscription cancellations, and one bomb threat. Such a reader
reaction is extraordinary given the paper's size. National columnist Bob
Greene (cited in Gordon, 1986) wrote, "The picture should never have been
published; in a way I hope you can understand, it was pornography." For
Greene the picture, "epitomized . . . everything that is wrong about what
we in this business do" (p. 19).
The controversy at the Californian was reminiscent of other
disturbing photographs that are printed from time to time and objected to
by the nation's newspaper readers. Stan Forman, then with the Boston
Herald-American, captured a tragic moment with his 135mm lens. A woman
and her young niece are frozen by the fast shutter speed in a fall from a
faulty fire escape's metal platform. The woman was killed, while the child
was saved because she landed on her aunt's body. One critic said the
picture was a "tasteless breach of privacy" ("Tasteless breach," 1986, p.
27).
Maria Rosas of the Miami Herald made a self-admitted shocking
photograph of a lifeless, nude Haitian man from a group of 33 who were
drowned while trying to reach the safety of Florida. Callers characterized
the picture as "vulgar, racist and sensationalistic" ("Readers object,"
1982, p. 2). Nudity, the fact that the picture was in color, and that it
was used large on the front page were contributing factors in the protest.
From a helicopter's overhead perspective, George Wedding made a striking
photograph of the nude body of 11-year-old Andy Carr lying face-up in the
back of an ash-filled pickup truck, a victim of Mt. St. Helen's powerful
force (see Student Workbook for this photograph). Readers called the image
"callous, insensitive, gross, cruel, tacky, in very poor taste, barbaric,
unimaginable, and repulsive" (Gordon, 1980, p. 25). With all three
pictures, editors most likely justified them with the Categorical
Imperative philosophy-the image described the tragic event like no
combination of words ever could. With all three pictures, readers more
often objected to them with the Golden Rule philosophy-the images
contributed to the victim's family grief or upset readers who would rather
not see such tragic events.
With a caption head titled, "A family's anguish," there is no doubt
that John Harte's photograph of young, lifeless, 5-year-old, Edward
Romero, halfway zippered in a dark, plastic body bag with family members
crying and a bystander awkwardly reaching for one of the survivors, is a
powerful and disturbing image. Under the outstretched arms and objections
from a deputy sheriff, Harte made the picture with a 24mm lens from about
5 feet away. Harte admitted that the family scene was a "get-at-any-cost
picture" and the most dramatic moment he had ever photographed. For Harte,
his motivation was probably the Categorical Imperative philosophy-a
dramatic, human tragedy should always be the subject of pictures.
After a discussion with Harte's weekend duty editor and the managing
editor, Robert Bentley, who was called in to make a decision on the
photograph, the editors ran the picture on an inside page agreeing with
Harte's Categorical Imperative philosophy. Bentley also employed the
Utilitarian approach. One other young boy had drowned on the same day.
Clearly the swimming area was a dangerous spot that the editors felt the
public needed to know about with Harte's dramatic image (Gordon, 1986).
A storm of protest from readers immediately followed and Bentley
changed his position. In a column titled, "What should give way when news
values collide with reader sensibilities?" Bentley admitted, "We make
mistakes-and this clearly was a big one." Wrote Bentley, "The damage done
to the memory of the late Edward Romero . . . and to the offended
sensitivities of Californian readers cannot be undone. It can only
be followed by sincere apologies and deep company-wide introspection"
(Gordon, 1986, p. 19). Bentley now advocated the Golden Rule philosophy,
shared by a majority of his readers, to justify his changed position. Not
all the letters were negative, however. Connie Hoppe wrote:
Ethics Codes Arguments
Ethical conduct may be guided by codes established by newspapers and
professional organizations, but ethical codes cannot anticipate every
situation. Consequently, the language of codes is hopeful, yet vague. For
example, the "Code of Ethics" that all members of the NPPA must sign does
not specifically mention gruesome situations (see Appendix A). The ethics
code does contain phrases such as photographers "should at all times
maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct," photojournalism "is
worthy of the very best thought and effort," and members should "maintain
high standards of ethical conduct."
Some would argue that codes should be ambiguous. Elliott-Boyle
(1985-1986) wrote that "codes can provide working journalists with
statements of minimums and perceived ideals" (p. 25). When a journalist
uses highly questionable practices that are outside standard behavior, the
offending reporter can be held accountable.
Others argue, however, that ethics codes should be less idealistic and
more specific particularly with regards to the "exploitation of grief." In
his 1986 article, George Padgett (1985-1986) asserted that vague ethical
codes and brief textbook treatment of photojournalism ethical issues do
not adequately provide guidelines for dealing with pictures of grieving
victims. Without such guidelines, he wrote, regulation by the courts may
classify grief pictures as invasions of privacy. "The problem should be
addressed," wrote Padgett, "while it is still an ethical rather than a
legal issue" (p. 56).
Conditions That Cause a Reader Firestorm
When confronting situations and photographs of accident and tragedy
victims, journalists are tom between the right to tell the story and the
right NOT to tell the story. Arguments by well meaning professional
journalists can be made for and against the taking and publishing or the
not taking and not publishing of almost any photograph. Curtis MacDougall
(197 1) in his visually graphic book, News Pictures Fit to Print . . .
Or Are They? argued that news pictures sometimes need to be offensive
in order to better educate the public. He wrote, "If it were in the public
interest to offend good taste, I would offend good taste" (p. vii). The
problem comes, of course, when journalists disagree on what is in the
public's interest.
From the examples just given, it can be generalized that readers are
more likely to object to a controversial picture if:
* it was taken by a staff photographer, If five or more of these conditions apply, editors should prepare
themselves for reader reactions before the firestorm hits. Staff
photographers and writers should be selected to help answer phone calls
and letters. Editors should prepare notes for a column that justifies the
decision. As many letters to the editor and telephone transcripts as
possible should be printed. Readers may not agree, but most will respect
the decision if the response to the controversy is prompt and the
justification is consistent.
Michael Josephson, president of the Josephson Institute for the
Advancement of Ethics, has suggested that editors and ombudsmen write
"early warning notes" to readers that a controversial story is about to be
printed. The note could describe the reasoning that led editors to print a
controversial picture. Such a practice might head-off public
misunderstanding about the intent of printing an image that may be
graphically violent or intense. Public Editor Kerry Sipe of the
Virginia-Pilot and Ledger-Star wrote a column on the same day a
child-abuse story ran. The paper only received one call from a reader who
said the story should not have run. "If he had not written his column,
Sipe said, he was sure that he would have received many more" (Cunningham,
1989, p. 10).
To better understand what is the right course of action, a journalist
should be familiar with the trends prevalent in newspapers and magazines,
know what the readers think is acceptable for publication, and have a
strong, personal ethical background.
Professional organizations and the literature that is produced by them
give journalists a good idea of where photojournalism has been and where
it is likely to head.
Discussions with a newspaper's ombudsman or editor, who receive many of
the complaints, will help to determine the aspects of photographic
coverage and publication most objectionable to readers. Guest lectures or
formalized town meetings by journalists with concerned citizens will
create a dialogue with readers that will help determine the acceptance
level of controversial images.
Finally, personal reflection will help balance the sometimes
conflicting goals of publishing the news while being sensitive to the
feelings of subjects and readers. A photographer's personal ethics are
influenced by many factors: family and religious upbringing, educational
opportunities, professional associations, career goals, day-to-day
experiences, and co-workers.
Nora Ephron (1978) in her book, Scribble Scribble Notes on the
Media, devoted a chapter to a description and reaction to Stan
Forman's fire escape tragedy. Ephron concluded that "I recognize that
printing pictures of corpses raises all sorts of problems about taste and
titillation and sensationalism; the fact is, however, that people die.
Death happens to be one of life's main events. And it is irresponsible and
more than that, inaccurate-for newspapers to fail to show it . . ." (p.
61).
A photojournalist's mission is to report all the news objectively,
fairly, and accurately. The profession can only improve in quality and
stature if photographers are mindful of those they see in their
viewfinders and those they seldom see, their readers. Decisions, however,
should be guided, never ruled, by readers.
Photojournalism An Ethical Approach
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Violence and tragedy
are staples of American journalism because readers are attracted to
gruesome stories and photographs. "If it bleeds, it leads" is an
undesirable rule of thumb. Judges of contests also have a fatal
attraction. Pulitzer Prizes are most often awarded to photographers who
make pictures of gruesome, dramatic moments (Goodwin, 1983). Milwaukee
Journal editor Sig Gissler summed up the newspaper profession's
sometimes Hedonistic philosophy when he admitted, "We have a commercial
interest in catastrophe" ("Knocking on death's door," 1989, p. 49).
I was horrified [by Harte's photograph], but I felt the item
was newsworthy.... that picture was real-maybe a little more real to me
because my own 21/2-year-old son drowned. . . . If maybe just one parent
saw that picture of the grieving family and drowning victim and has
taken more precautions around pool and beach areas because of it, then
that picture may have saved another child's life. (Gordon, 1986, p.
23)
Bill Hodge (1989) reported that in the 2 months prior to
the boy's death, 14 people had drowned. In the month following the
controversy, only 2 drowned. The newspaper and the photographer had to
take the wrath of an angry readership who either did not want to be faced
with a real tragedy of life or they sincerely were concerned about the
rights to privacy for the Romero family. Whatever the rationale, lives
were probably saved by the newspaper's coverage.
* it comes from a local
story,
* the image is printed in color,
* the image is printed in
a morning paper,
* the image is printed on the front page,
* it
has no story accompaniment,
* it shows people overcome with grief,
* it shows the victim's body,
* the body is physically
traumatized,
* the victim is a child, and
* nudity is involved.