Author Srecommendations

Chapter19: EthicsIssuesSpecifictoVisualJournalism

Author’sRecommendations

Baradell, Scott, and Anh D. Stack, Photojournalism, Technology and Ethics: What’s Right and Wrong Today? (New York: Black Star, 2008).

Farid, Hany, “Photo Tampering throughout History,” Four and Six. Hany Faridof Dartmouth College has assembled this slideshow, which is regularly updated.

Manning, Colin, Photo-Journalism Ethics in the Digital Age, Tableau 4: Ethics (2005).

HistoryofPhotography

Irby, Kenneth, “Theartandlanguageofphotography:aphotojournalismglossary,” Poynter,Aug.26,2002.

J. Paul Getty Museum, “William Henry Fox Talbot.”

Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Daguerre (1787–1851) and the Invention of Photography,” HeilbrunnTimeline of Art History.

DistortionofNewsPhotographs

Frank, Russell, “Altered photos break public’s trust in media,” Los Angeles Times, Apr. 7, 2003.

Hodges, Louis W., “The distorting mirror: ethics and the camera,” unpublished paper. The Washington and Lee University ethicist discusses photojournalism ethics issues. (See separate file in this folder.)

Irby, Kenneth, “L.A. Times photographer fired over altered image,” Poynter, Apr. 2, 2003.

Johnston, Cheryl, “Digital deception,” American Journalism Review, May 2003.

Lester, Paul Martin, Photojournalism: An Ethical Approach (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1991).

Steinman, Ron, “An interview with Dr. Hany Farid,” The Digital Journalist, Feb. 2008.

Van Riper, Frank, “Manipulating truth, losing credibility,” The Washington Post, Apr. 9, 2003. Contains the two images that were used to create the composite Iraq war photo.

IntegrityStandardsforStillImages

Adducchio, Ben, and Emily Corio, “Morgantown newspaper removes three legislators from front-page photo,” West Virginia Public Broadcasting, May 18, 2010. The Dominion Post’s editor explained that, during a political campaign, the paper has a policy of not publishing pictures of candidates running for re-election.

The Associated Press, “AP News Values & Principles.” See “Images.”

The Associated Press, “White House: no more photo reenactments,” Newsmax, May 12, 2011.

Beaujon, Andrew, “How the AP verified photo of Boston bombing suspect leaving scene,” Poynter, Apr. 22, 2013. A runner’s cell phone photo was meticulously examined before AP used it.

Benac, Nancy, “News media protest White House press access limits,” Associated Press, Nov. 22, 2013. The White House sometimes keeps journalists from photographing the president as he goes about his official duties, preferring instead to hand out photos and videos shot by official photographers. Leading organizations of professionals registered their objections. – politics.html

Burnett, James H., III, “Boston gets a nonreality show,” The Boston Globe, July 8, 2011. “Those who watched Boston’s revered Fourth of July celebration Monday night on CBS were treated to spectacular views of fireworks exploding behind the State House, Quincy Market, and home plate at Fenway Park, among other places – great views, until you consider that they were physically impossible.” The executive producer of the show confirmed that the images were altered, saying that the manipulation was acceptable because the show was entertainment and not news.

DeFoore, Jay, “Newsweek changes crediting policy following cover flap,” Photo District News, Mar. 8, 2005. Access via news databases.

Dumenco, Simon, “Hey, would you want your back fat on the cover of Redbook?,” Advertising Age, July 30, 2007. A defense of distorted photography on magazine covers: “Photoshopping may offend some self-righteous bloggers, but sometimes retouching is necessary.”

Elliott, Deni, and Paul Martin Lester, “Manipulation: the word we love to hate (part 3),” News Photographer, Oct. 2003.

Golford, Paul, “AP reacts to alteration of photo,” The Definitive Source, Jan. 22, 2014. The AP dropped a freelance photographer who removed a video camera from a scene photographed in Syria.

Goodwin, Doris Kearns,No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), 586.

Irby, Kenneth, “Magazine covers: photojournalism or illustration?,” Poynter, Jan. 2, 2003. Four magazine experts respond to questions about the ethical issues.

Irby, Kenneth, “New York Times guidelines on our integrity,” Poynter, Sept. 5, 2003.

Irby, Kenneth, “Washington Post policy on manipulation of photographic images,” Poynter, Sept. 5, 2003.

Kurtz, Howard, “L.A. Times gets burned by disaster photograph,” The Washington Post, Feb. 2, 1994. Access via news databases.

Lyon, Santiago, “Detecting the truth in photos,” Nieman Reports, Summer 2012. “As technologies to manipulate images grow ever more sophisticated, media organizations are using software to help determine authenticity.”

Myers, Steve, “Photojournalists debate ethics of Instagram, Hipstamatic,” Poynter, Feb. 29, 2012. Related: Megan Garber, “A guide to the Instagram filters you’ll soon be seeing on Facebook,” The Atlantic, Apr. 10, 2012. A list of products and their effects.

National Press Photographers Association, “NPPA code of ethics.”

The New York Times Lens blog, “Debating the rules and ethics of digital journalism,” Feb. 17, 2015. Michele McNally, jury chair for the 2015 World Press Photo contest, is quoted: “[D]igital is not film, it is data – and it requires a new and clear set of rules.”

Ricchiardi, Sherry, “Distorted picture,” American Journalism Review, Aug.–Sept. 2007, 40. Misuse of the technology poses a serious threat to photojournalism’s credibility.

Rudoren, Jodi, “Newspaper in Israel scrubs women from photo at Paris unity rally,” The New York Times, Jan. 13, 2015. An Israeli newspaper removed German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other women from a front-page photograph. The article is accompanied by the original photo and the altered photo.

Sonderman, Jeff, “Use of generic photos can be dangerous for illustrating news stories,” Poynter, Feb. 7, 2013. Poynter’s Kenneth Irby is quoted: “The use of stock photography without any photographic attribution of obvious credit is a very misleading practice that contributes to the public/audience mistrust of the media.”

Stern, Nick, “Why Instagram photos cheat the viewer,” CNN, Feb. 23, 2012.

Sullivan, Margaret, “Tattoo removal on the photo desk,” The New York Times, May 18, 2013.

IntegrityStandardsinNews Video

Barnett, Brooke, and Maria Elizabeth Grabe, “The impact of slow motion video on viewer evaluations of television news stories,” Visual Communication Quarterly, Summer 2000, 4–7. Access via academic databases.

Linn, Travis, “Staging in TV news,” Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 6:1 (Mar. 1991), 47–54. Access via academic databases.

McCombs, Regina, “See how music changes a story,” Poynter, Mar. 17, 2009. Includes a video demonstration of how music changes a story in broadcast journalism. Links to related essays on the topic.

Radio Television Digital News Association, “Guidelines for ethical video and audio editing.”

MakingDecisionsaboutOffensiveContent

Andelman, Bob, “AFP, AP transmit graphic photos of dead Gadhafi,” Poynter, Oct. 20, 2011. Links to the images.

Irby, Kenneth, “Advice on publishing graphic photos from Iraq,” Poynter, June 16, 2014. How should news outlets handle the gruesome execution video from the Islamic State?

Irby, Kenneth, “When deciding to run an open-casket photo, picture editors matter,” Poynter, June 25, 2015. Many publications and websites used open-casket photos in their coverage of a two-day public viewing for senator-pastor killed in the massacre at a Charleston church. Irby emphasized the value of newsroom discussions and the contribution that photo editors should make. “[C]ropping a photograph is every bit the same as cropping a paragraph. The visual editor is also looking to refine focus and increase clarity. The removal of elements in the composition equates with the removal of unnecessary words.”

Kent, Thomas, “Sensational and gory material,” paper written for the Online News Association. “Is it our job simply to reflect reality, or do we have a responsibility to protect readers and viewers from disturbing images?”

McLellan, Michele, The Newspaper Credibility Handbook: Better Ways to Build Reader Trust (Washington, DC: American Society of Newspaper Editors, 2001), 155–158.

Rainey, James, “Unseen pictures, untold stories,” Los Angeles Times, May 21, 2005. Why did US newspapers and magazines print few photos of American dead and wounded in the Iraq war? Includes a slideshow on the history of war photographs.

Schanberg, Sydney, “Not a pretty picture,” Village Voice, May 10, 2005. The veteran war correspondent criticizes news organizations for failing to show the public what war looks like.

Shedden, David, “Dealing with shocking images,” Poynter, Jan. 9, 2007. A list of general online resources on the topic.

IntrusionbyPhotojournalists

Pride, Mike, “AgrievingConcordrepelledbymediamisbehavior,” presstime, Mar. 1986.ReportsonhowphotojournalistsdisruptedtwomemorialservicesforChristaMcAuliffe,theteacherkilledintheChallengerspace-shuttleexplosion.Access via academic databases.

Virtual Reality and Journalism

Kent, Thomas, “An ethical reality check for virtual reality journalism,” Medium, Aug. 31, 2015. Kent, the Associated Press standards editor, raises questions about a technique that can give a viewer the experience of actually being in a scene. One question: “Is VR journalism supposed to be the event itself, an artist’s conception of the event or something akin to a historical novel, ‘based on a true story’ ”? Kent concludes, “Common understandings of what techniques are ethically acceptable and what needs to be disclosed to viewers can go a long way toward guarding the future of VR as a legitimate journalistic tool.”

Olivia Koski, “Virtual reality lets the audience step into the story,”Nieman Reports, Winter 2015. Koski reports that the technology “has gotten better, cheaper, and more portable.” She addresses the ethical issues.

Oreskes, Michael, “What we talk about when we talk about virtual reality,” memo to the NPR staff from the editorial director, Nov. 9, 2015. Oreskes writes, “The name itself sounds an alert. Our stories can’t be virtually true. They must be fully real.” He writes that journalism must continue to experiment but concludes, “It’s not about technology. It’s about credibility and making sure our journalism into the future is as credible and trusted as it has been in the past.”

Polgreen, Erin, “Virtual reality is journalism’s next frontier,” Columbia Journalism Review, Nov. 19, 2014. The author explains “why newsrooms need to consider telling stories in a different way,” and offers a step-by-step guide for launchingVR projects.

Sullivan, Margaret, “The tricky terrain of virtual reality,” The New York Times, Nov. 14, 2015. The public editor reports on reactions, favorable and unfavorable, about The Times’ first VR project, an 11-minute film telling the stories of three children who are war refugees in Lebanon, Ukraine and South Sudan. Her observations: “Transparency can’t solve every problem, but it’s an absolute necessity at this stage. So is recognizing that virtual reality isn’t appropriate at all for some journalistic purposes.”

CaseStudy:TheFallingMan,WorldTradeCenter,2001

Howe, Peter, “RichardDrew,” TheDigitalJournalist, 2001.

Junod, Tom, “Thefallingman,” Esquire, Sept. 2003.Access via news databases. Esquire Classic Podcast, Oct. 5, 2015: “In a stirring and emotional conversation with host David Brancaccio…, Tom Junod reveals why he felt it was his responsibility to bring Richard Drew’s infamous photo of the falling man to light.”

Kim, Connie, “A single day, a thousand images,” Quill, Nov. 2001, 22–23. Access via academic databases.

Trost,Cathy, andAliciaC.Shepard,RunningtowardDanger:StoriesbehindtheBreakingNewsof9/11(Lanham,MD:RowmanLittlefield,2002),44,210.

CaseStudy:PhotographingaManPushedtoHisDeath

Bercovici, Jeff, “New York Post’s subway death photo: was it ethical photojournalism?,” Forbes, Dec. 4, 2012. Access via news databases.

Carr, David, “Train wreck: the New York Post’s subway cover,” The New York Times, Dec. 5, 2012.

Coleman, A. D., “The photographer as citizen,” Photocritic International, Dec. 28, 2012.

Collins, Laura, Daniel Bates, Louise Boyle, Daniel Miller, and Beth Stebner, “‘There was no way I could have saved him’: photographer claims he was too far away to pull ‘doomed’ subway rider off train tracks,” Daily Mail (London), Dec. 5, 2012.

Conley, Kirstan, “Suspect confesses in pushing death of Queens dad in Times Square subway station,” New York Post, Dec. 4, 2012.

Frank, Russell, “ ‘DOOMED’: Gawking vs. bearing witness on a New York subway platform,” Media Ethics Magazine, Spring 2015, Vol. 26, No. 2. Frank, journalism professor at Pennsylvania State University, analyzes the arguments pro and con for running Abbasi’s photograph. He also notes the value of the real-time digital comments from news consumers. His piece cites other commentaries on the case.

Lauer, Matt, and Savannah Guthrie, interview with R. Umar Abbasi, Today, Dec. 5, 2012.

Moos, Julie, “Irby: blame NY Post editors, not photographer, for subway death photo,” Poynter, Dec. 4, 2012.

National Press Photographers Association, “Subway photo,” Dec. 5, 2012.

Pinsker, Joe, “NY Post subway death photo: a real-world final exam,” Forbes, Dec. 6, 2012. Access via news databases.

Weingus, Leigh, “Witnessing a tragedy on my way to work,” The Huffington Post, Dec. 4, 2012.

CaseStudy:AMarineIsMortallyWounded

The Associated Press, “Why AP published photo of slain Marine,” Sept. 4, 2009. Access via news databases.

Daily Mail, “Pictured: the heartbreaking image of a dying U.S. marine that has reignited American divisions over the Afghan war,” Sept. 7, 2009.

deMontesquiou, Alfred, and Julie Jacobson, “Death of a Marine,” Associated Press, Sept. 4, 2009. The article was accompanied by 11 photographs by Jacobson. Access via news databases.

Dunlap, David W., “Behind the scenes: to publish or not?,” Lens: Photography, Video and Visual Journalism, The New York Times, Sept. 4, 2009.

Dunlap, David W., and Beth Flynn, “Readers’ voices: public and private trauma,” Lens: Photography, Video and Visual Journalism, The New York Times, Sept. 21, 2009.

Garfield, Bob, and Brooke Gladstone, “Differing perspectives,” On the Media, Sept. 11, 2009. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell explains Gates’ position, while AP photo director Santiago Lyon explains the decision to use the photograph.

Seelye, Katharine Q., “Gates assails news agency for publishing photo of Marine killed in Afghanistan,” The New York Times, Sept. 4, 2009.

Steele, Bob, “AP made right call in publishing photo, story of fallen Marine,” Poynter, Sept. 4, 2009.