Ethics in Photojournalism: Past, Present, and Future
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Ethics in Photojournalism: Past, Present, and Future By Daniel R. Bersak S.B. Comparative Media Studies & Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003 SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER, 2006 Copyright 2006 Daniel R. Bersak, All Rights Reserved The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature of Author: _____________________________________________________ Department of Comparative Media Studies, August 11, 2006 Certified By: ___________________________________________________________ Edward Barrett Senior Lecturer, Department of Writing Thesis Supervisor Accepted By: __________________________________________________________ William Uricchio Professor of Comparative Media Studies Director Ethics In Photojournalism: Past, Present, and Future By Daniel R. Bersak Submitted to the Department of Comparative Media Studies, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences on August 11, 2006, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Comparative Media Studies Abstract Like writers and editors, photojournalists are held to a standard of ethics. Each publication has a set of rules, sometimes written, sometimes unwritten, that governs what that publication considers to be a truthful and faithful representation of images to the public. These rules cover a wide range of topics such as how a photographer should act while taking pictures, what he or she can and can’t photograph, and whether and how an image can be altered in the darkroom or on the computer. This ethical framework evolved over time, influenced by such things as technological capability and community values; and it is continually developing today. This thesis details how photojournalism’s ethical system came to be, what the system looks like today, and where it will go in the future. The first chapter chronicles the history of ethics in photojournalism. The second chapter describes current ethical practices through specific case studies. The third and final chapter builds upon the first two and uses technology and policy to examine the trajectory of photojournalistic ethics. Thesis Supervisor: Edward Barrett Thesis Supervisor: B.D. Colen Lecturer, Department of Writing Senior Lecturer, Department of Writing Biographical Note Daniel Bersak was born in Ipswich, England in 1980. He later attended Manchester High School West in Manchester, New Hampshire. Following high school he went to MIT, where he graduated with a combined degree in Comparative Media Studies and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. While at MIT, Bersak joined the staff of MIT’s newspaper The Tech after taking a course in Documentary Photography and Photojournalism. Eventually, he rose to the position of photo editor, and he began taking freelance assignments. Bersak has worked for the Associated Press, AI Wire, Sipa Press, Skybox Sports Scenes, the MIT News Department, and many others. His images have appeared in newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, Newsweek, GQ Magazine, and ESPN Magazine. Bersak is a member of the National Press Photographers Association, the Boston Press Photographers Association, and is an active contributor to Sportsshooter.com. Bersak currently resides in Boston with his fiancée Ashley and his dog Fred. Acknowledgments There are many people without whom I never could have completed this thesis. I would like to thank B.D. Colen and Ed Barrett for mentoring me, for being on my thesis committee, and ultimately for accepting my defense of this thesis. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the professors who have helped me along the way. Susan Slyomovics, Henry Jenkins, William Uriccio, Edward B. Turk, and Ted Selker have all contributed a great deal. I am fortunate to have an amazing collection of family and friends. My parents, Robert and Toby, and my sister Carrie provided love, support, and proofreading. My dog Fred did his part as well, making sure I got plenty of walks, and recovering anything I happened to throw in frustration. Last but not least, my sincerest love and thanks go to my fiancée, Ashley. She has read every draft of this document, and never once failed to improve it. She has taken care of me in every way possible, and without her I truly never could have finished. Introduction News images shape our culture in ways both profound and deep. Those who lived through the Vietnam era cannot help but remember the searing photographs that have come to symbolize that conflict -- a Saigon street execution, a naked girl covered in napalm, a thousand-yard stare, and so on. These photos have woven themselves into the collective memory of a generation. There are some who would even say that the mounting weight of photographic evidence was the primary cause for public opinion to shift against the war in Vietnam, and hence effected an end to the war itself. As such, to borrow a phrase from pop culture, “With great power comes great responsibility.”1 Responsible photojournalism means adherence to a standard of ethics. Merriam-Webster defines “ethics” as, “the code of good conduct for an individual or group,” and lists synonyms as, “morality, morals, principles, [and] standards.”2 In terms of ethics in photojournalism, the National Press Photographers Association's Code of Ethics reads, in part: Photographic and video images can reveal great truths, expose wrongdoing and neglect, inspire hope and understanding and connect people around the globe through the language of visual understanding. Photographs can also cause great harm if they are callously intrusive or are manipulated.3 The Code of Ethics goes on to detail what is and is not acceptable in professional photojournalism. Though the standards may seem fairly crystalized, every day there are challenging borderline cases. Considering that photography itself is barely 150 years old, one might wonder how these particular ethical guidelines came to be, and how they may be evolving over time. As a topic, 'ethics in photojournalism' is difficult to approach, or even to define. In order to ask questions such as, "what were photojournalistic ethics in the past," "what are photojournalistic ethics today," and "what will photojournalistic ethics look like in the future," one must first carefully define the concepts of both ‘ethics’ and ‘photojournalism.’ What exactly qualifies as photojournalism? The answer is somewhat hazy. If photojournalism is photography plus journalism, what is journalism? Princeton University's WordNet defines 'journalism' as, "The profession of reporting or photographing or editing news stories for one of the media."4 Under that definition, someone who fakes an image of Bigfoot for the Weekly World News is as much a journalist as the man who took the Pulitzer Prize winning photograph of a firefighter holding a baby after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing5. That man (Charles H. Porter IV) was employed as a utility worker and not as a newspaper photographer at the time. Fig. 1: Left: Image of Bigfoot on the cover of the Weekly World News, 30 October, 2001.6 Right: Pulitzer Prize Winning photo of a firefighter holding a baby at the scene of the Oklahoma City Bombing, 19 April, 1995.7 Ethics is an inherently subjective field. In his seminal textbook, Photojournalism, the Professionals’ Approach, author and photojournalism professor Kenneth Kobré writes, “Photojournalism has no Bible, no rabbinical college, no Pope to define correct choices.”8 There is no sole arbiter of what is or isn't ethical, and even if there were, the line isn't always black and white. Most texts regarding ethics in photojournalism focus on the issue of what might be termed “photographic truth” - whether a particular image accurately represents the subject or whether it misleads the viewer. The National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics states that the “primary goal” of the photojournalist is the “...faithful and comprehensive depiction of the subject at hand.”9 Can a photographer pose a news photo? Can he alter it, in the darkroom or otherwise? Are the results of these actions “faithful and comprehensive depictions?” While myriad texts attempt to answer these particular questions, the scope of photojournalistic ethics extends significantly beyond them. For example, the distinction between ethics and taste is constantly up for debate, especially in relation to violent or sexual imagery.10 While some see sex and violence as issues of taste, others include them under the heading of ethics. Additionally, photojournalistic ethics might encompass the choices an individual photographer makes while shooting. For example, should a war photographer put down his cameras in order to help an injured soldier? If someone asks that his or her photo not be taken, is it ethical to photograph that person anyway? If ethics in photojournalism is about being “faithful and comprehensive,” is intentionally underexposing or poorly focusing unethical? Some of these questions sit on the line between journalistic ethics and professionalism. In his book Photojournalism: An Ethical Approach, California State University Fullerton Professor Paul Martin Lester outlines