The ethics of Photojournalism By Somrita Vicky C

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 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 n n n 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 n 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 n 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 n n 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

n n 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 n n n 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 n n n 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 n n n 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 n n n 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 n n n Abu gharib Somalia Iraq invasion Gujarat Riots Veerappan’s dead body