Chapter 19: Ethics Issues Specific to Visual Journalism

Chapter 19: Ethics Issues Specific to Visual Journalism

History of Photography

Department of Photographs, “Daguerre (1787–1851) and the Invention of Photography,” in Timeline of Art History (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–), October 2004. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dagu/hd_dagu.htm

The Getty Museum, Biography of William Henry Fox Talbot.

http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=2005

Distortion of News Photographs

Slideshow: Hany Farid, “Photo tampering throughout history,” the Dartmouth professor’s website reviewing notable examples. The website is continuously updated. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/research/digitaltampering/

Ron Steinman, “An interview with Dr. Hany Farid, February 2008.”

http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0802/digital-forensics-an-interview-with-dr-hany-farid.html

Howard Kurtz, “L.A. Times gets burned by disaster photograph,” The Washington Post, Feb. 2, 1994. The case of the photographer who staged a photograph of a firefighter dousing his head with water from a backyard swimming pool while the luxury home behind him was consumed by fire. (Lexis/Nexis Academic)

Steven R. Knowlton, Moral Reasoning for Journalists: Cases and Commentary (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1997). Newsday’s treatment of the Olympic figure skaters is on pages 188-193.

Louis W. Hodges, “The distorting mirror: Ethics and the camera,” unpublished manuscript.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

The Iraq war photo: Kenny Irby, “L. A. Times photographer fired over altered image,” poynteronline, April 2, 2003. Includes an interactive comparison of the original images and the composite.

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=28082

Kenny Irby, “Magazine covers: Photojournalism or illustration?”, poynteronline,

Dec. 30, 2002. Four magazine experts respond to questions about the ethical issues.

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=15422

Cheryl Johnston, “Digital deception,” American Journalism Review, May 2003, 10-11. How damaging is the threat of manipulating photos to the credibility of photojournalism? http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=2975

Simon Dumenco, “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.” http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=119550

Sherry Ricchiardi, “Distorted picture,” American Journalism Review, August/September 2007, 40. Misuse of the technology poses a serious threat to photojournalism’s credibility. http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4383

The Associated Press, “White House: No more photo reenactments,” May 12, 2011. The White House announced that it would end its practice of having presidents re-enact their speeches for news photographers. News organizations had long protested the practice, which dates to the Truman administration, and Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said, “We have concluded that this arrangement is a bad idea.” http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/US-Obama-Photographers/2011/05/12/id/396169

Santiago Lyon, “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.” http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102763/Detecting-the-Truth-in-Photos.aspx

Andrew Beaujon, “How the AP verified photo of Boston bombing suspect leaving scene,” poynteronline, April 22, 2013. A runner’s cell-phone photo was meticulously examined before AP used it. http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/211087/how-the-ap-verified-photo-of-boston-bombing-suspect-leaving-scene/

Margaret Sullivan, “Tattoo removal on the photo desk,” The New York Times, May 18, 2013. The public editor discovers that even at The Times, the T fashion magazine disregards the no-manipulation standard. An editor explains: “Fashion is fantasy. Readers understand this. It’s totally manipulated, with everything done for aesthetics.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/public-editor/photo-manipulation-on-the-fashion-pages.html?_r=0

Colin Manning, “Photo-journalism ethics in the Digital Age,” Cork Institute of Technology, undated. A thoughtful essay examining the history of photojournalists’ efforts to convey truth through their images. http://www.newmediarepublic.com/articles/photoethics.pdf

Professional Standards for Still Images

National Press Photographers Association’s code of ethics:

http://pirate.shu.edu/~mckenndo/ethics_codes-NPPA.htm

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

Alissa Quart, “Flickring Out,” Columbia Journalism Review, July/August 2008, Vol. 47 Issue 2, 14-17. Explores how so-called citizen journalism and the proliferation of amateur photographers will affect photojournalism. (Academic databases)

Jeff Sonderman, “Use of generic photos can be dangerous for illustrating news stories, poynteronline, Feb. 7, 2013. Poynter’s Kenny 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.” http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/203021/use-of-generic-photos-to-illustrate-news-stories-can-be-dangerous/

Professional Standards in TV and Audio Editing

Scott Baradell and Anh D. Stack, Photojournalism, Technology and Ethics: What’s Right and Wrong Today? (New York: Black Star, 2008) This ebook can be downloaded in PDF format: http://rising.blackstar.com/photojournalism-technology-and-ethics-whats-right-and-wrong-today

Travis Linn, “Staging in TV news,” Journal of Mass Media Ethics, March 1991. (Academic databases)

Brooke Barnett and Maria Elizabeth Grabe, “The impact of slow motion video on viewer evaluations of television news stories,” Visual Communication Quarterly, Summer 2000.

(Academic databases)

Ethics code of the Radio Television Digital News Association.

http://www.rtnda.org/article/rtdna_code_of_ethics

Newsroom Ethics: Decision-Making for Quality Coverage, 4th Ed., (Washington: Radio Television News Directors Foundation, 2006).

Radio Television Digital News Association, “Guidelines for ethical video and audio editing.” http://www.rtdna.org/content/guidelines_for_ethical_video_and_audio_editing

Video clip: Regina McCombs, “See how music changes a story,” poynteronline, April 1, 2009. Includes a demonstration of how music changes a story in broadcast journalism. Links to the author’s related essays on the topic.
http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=160295&sid=11

Making Decisions About Offensive Content

Sydney Schanberg, “Not a pretty picture,” Village Voice, May 17, 2005. The veteran war correspondent criticizes news organizations for failing to show the public what war looks like. http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-05-10/news/not-a-pretty-picture/

James Rainey, “Unseen pictures, untold stories,” Los Angeles Times, May 21, 2005. Considers why U.S. newspapers and magazines printed few photos of American dead and wounded in the Iraq war. Includes a slide show on the history of war photographs.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-iraqphoto21may21,0,2732182.story

David Shedden, “Dealing with shocking images,” poynteronline, Jan. 9, 2007. A list of resources on the topic. http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=65600

Bob Garfield and Brooke Gladstone, “Differing perspectives,” NPR’s “On the Media” program, Sept. 11, 2009. This is a transcript of a segment discussing the decision of The Associated Press to release a photo of a fatally wounded Marine in Afghanistan. The soldier’s family and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had made multiple pleas for the AP not to run it. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell explains Gates’ position, while AP photo director Santiago Lyon explains the decision to use the photograph. http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/09/11/03

See also the sources for Case Study No. 22 below.

The Associated Press, “Why AP is publishing photos of U.S. war dead,” Dec. 5, 2010. http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/12/05/5582549-why-ap-is-publishing-photos-of-us-war-dead

Bob Andelman, “AFP, AP transmit graphic photos of dead Gadhafi,” poynteronline, Oct. 20, 2011. Links to the images. http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/150263/ap-transmits-gaddafi-death-images-video/

Samantha Sharf, “NY Post subway death photo: a real-world final exam,” forbes.com, Dec. 6, 2012. A University of Pennsylvania class analyzes The Post’s handling of a freelancer’s photo of a man moments before death. A guest post by a class member, Joe Pinsker. http://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2012/12/06/ny-posts-subway-death-photo-a-real-world-final-exam/

Also see references in Chapter 15 Resources under “Offensive Images in the News.”

Intrusion by Photojournalists

Mike Pride, “A grieving Concord repelled by media misbehavior,” presstime, March 1986. Reports on how photojournalists disrupted two memorial services for Christa McAuliffe, the teacher killed in the Challenger space-shuttle explosion. (Academic databases)

Case Study No. 22: Would You Run This Photograph?

Fire-escape collapse, 1975:

BBC News, “Picture power: Fire-escape drama,” Sept. 30, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4245138.stm,

Philip Patterson and Lee Wilkins, Media Ethics: Issues and Cases, 6th Ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), 114-116.

Drowning and grief, 1985:

“Graphic excess,” Washington Journalism Review, January 1986, 10-11. (Academic databases)

Deni Elliott and Paul Martin Lester, “What is news? The answer is not blowing on a whim,” News Photographer, February 2003. (Academic databases)

Clifford Christians, Kim B. Rotzoll, Mark Fackler, Kathy Brittain McKee and Robert H. Woods Jr., Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning, 7th Ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2005), 116-119.

World Trade Center, 2001:

CBC Newsworld, “Passionate Eye Showcase: The falling man,” http://www.cbc.ca/passionateeyemonday/fallingman/

Peter Howe, “Richard Drew,” The Digital Journalist. http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0110/drew.htm

Tom Junod, “The falling man,” Esquire, September 2003. http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0903-SEP_FALLINGMAN

Cathy Trost and Alicia C. Shepard, Running Toward Danger: Stories Behind the Breaking News of 9/11 (Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002), 44, 210.

Connie Kim, “A single day, a thousand images,” Quill, November 2001, 22-23. (Academic databases)

Fury in Fallujah, 2004:

Jeffrey Gettleman, “Enraged mob in Falluja kills 4 American contractors,” The New York Times, March 31, 2004. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/31/international/worldspecial/31CND-IRAQ.html

Julia Angwin and Matthew Rose, “When news is gruesome, what’s too graphic?”, The Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2004, B1. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB108077986846471007-IZjeoNglaF3oZuqZXSGbKaIm4.html

Matt Thompson, “Discussion is the policy,” poynteronline, April 1, 2004. http://poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=63419

Editor & Publisher, Survey of newspaper use of Fallujah photos, April 2, 2004. (Academic databases)

Phil H. Shook, “Readers respond to Fallujah photos,” poynteronline, April 13, 2004. http://poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=63968

Additional Case Studies

Distortion for modesty: Robert F. King, “The amazing growing sweater,” poynteronline, Aug. 1, 1997. An example of digital manipulation that was undertaken for benign reasons. This is an interactive case study.

http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/2149/the-amazing-growing-sweater/

Perceived offensive content: Kenny Irby, “When disturbing photos run,” poynteronline, Sept. 22, 2000. The Detroit Free Press received complaints for its front-page photograph of a medical examiner’s office worker holding a plastic bag containing the body of an infant. This is an interactive case study.

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=10769

Death of a Marine. Associated Press photographer Julie Jacobson’s photo slideshow documented Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard’s death on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Jacobson was accompanying a patrol when it was ambushed by the Taliban. In the firefight, Bernard, 21, suffered mortal leg wounds. Jacobson’s photo slideshow includes a photograph, taken with a long lens, showing Bernard immediately after he was hit. The AP held the photographs until after Bernard’s burial in Maine, then showed them to his father, who objected to their publication. When the AP subsequently decided to distribute the photographs, senior managing editor John Daniszewski said: “We understand Mr. Bernard's anguish. We believe this image is part of the history of this war. The story and photos are in themselves a respectful treatment and recognition of sacrifice.”

·  The Associated Press, “Associated Press says photo of Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard shows realities of war,” St. Petersburg Times, Sept. 4, 2009.

http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/article1033549.ece

·  David W. Dunlap, “Behind the scenes: To publish or not?”, in a blog for The New York Times, Sept. 4, 2009. Dunlap analyzed the case.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/behind-13/

Examples of digitally altered images:

·  Ben Adducchio 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 the paper has a policy of not publishing pictures of candidates running for reelection during the political season.

http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=14828

·  Jessica Lum, “Controversy crops up over Economist cover photo,” PetaPixel, July 5, 2010. The Economist’s cover photo showed President Obama standing alone on a Louisiana beach. But he wasn’t alone; the two people with him had been removed, one by digitally manipulation and the other by a crop. The magazine defended its action.

http://www.petapixel.com/2010/07/05/controversy-crops-up-over-economist-cover-photo/

·  James H. Burnett 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.” David Mugar, who executive-produced the show, confirmed that the images were altered, saying that the manipulation was acceptable because the show was entertainment and not news. http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2011/07/08/cbs_broadcasts_altered_views_of_bostons_fourth_of_july_fireworks/

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