Ethics in Photojournalism

One great controversy in photojournalism is if the photograph has been staged, and if it actually is what it really looks like.

The national press photographer’s association (NPPA) states in their code of ethics, that the following condition must be met when carrying out their daily work “Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects.”. Now, you would think that if an image has been published in a well-known, reputable, magazine or newspaper such as the New York Post, then it would be true to life, and a true representation of what is being shown. Unfortunately, some of the time, this is not the case.

Photo by - Jennifer Foster
Image Source - http://gothamist.com/2012/12/04/shoeless_not_homeless_barefoot_man.php

An example of this is a photograph, which went viral all around the world in 2012 in which an NYPD officer is seen giving a homeless, barefoot man, a new pair of boots. This photograph was posted on countless news websites and attracted a lot of attention, to the kindness of the police officer. The amount of attention it attracted turned out not to be such a good thing, as it emerged that the ‘homeless’ man on the street, was not actually homeless.

Jeffery Hillman, the man pictured sitting barefoot on the street, is an army veteran, and was in fact homeless for a while leading up to the year 2011, but at the point this photograph was taken, Jeffery actually had “stable housing”, paid for by Veterans Affairs. This caused outrage as critics felt that the photograph was staged, and there might be more to the image than is led to believe.

This leads one’s mind to ask more questions about the photograph, are they posing for the camera? Is the police officer even a real officer? Was this photograph taken just to make money?

Another controversy, which I have a strong opinion on, is when a photojournalist chooses to capture the moment instead of helping the subject.

There are many examples that can be used for this subject but one that I would like to share is one that was posted on the front page of the New York Post on December 4, 2012. In the image, a man is seen on a subway track, clinging onto the side of the platform, with the train approaching.

** Warning, image is graphic. **

Photo By - R. Umar Abbasi
Image Source - http://nypost.com/2012/12/05/a-picture-of-controversy/

Now when such horrific events happen such as this one, there are three types of people. The ones that help, the ones that stand back and freeze, and the ones which choose to document the event and take pictures. When there is a large group of people, and there is sufficient help for the victims, I might see it as acceptable for someone to take pictures. However, in the photograph of the man on the subway tracks, there is not one person seen on the platform, so the person who chose to take the picture, chose to do this instead of helping the man and saving his life.

What makes this situation so much worse, is the fact that the man was actually pushed onto the tracks by another person. If you have any moral values, or ethics, then you should dedicate the time and effort to saving this man, instead of taking out your camera to take a photograph. This photographer simply chose the option of making money, making headlines, and making a name for HIMSELF, rather than saving another humans life. There was a huge amount of criticism directed at not only the photographer, but the New York Post for the “tasteless” and heartless decision of publishing the photograph on their front page.

My personal ethics map, has four sections – Truth, Respect, Compassion, and legality. I feel as though these are the four most important ethical points for me, when taking photographs or documenting events. 

 

Photo by - James Worrall

Referencing my map to the above controversies, I ask you to draw your attention to my Truth section first. For the first controversy, I ask, is the photo accurate? Was it staged? Has is been edited or manipulated?

Now I drew up this ethics map for myself before I did any research into photojournalism controversy and the ethics involved, so these ethics are my own beliefs. The first photo is not accurate, as it leads you to believe that this man is homeless, and helpless, which he is not. Jeffery Hillman was very well known by the NYPD and had a long string of criminal charges against him, leading up to when this picture was taken, so he is not as innocent as the photograph makes out. This leads onto whether the photograph is staged. This is a possibility because if the NYPD knew him so well and his extensive criminal history, why are they going out of their way to help him like they show?

Moving onto the next controversy, the section of my ethics map, which is important, in this case is Compassion.

Think about the subject, How would you feel in their situation? Could you do something to help? The photographer clearly had no ethics in mind when taking this photograph, and was only thinking about himself. He could have tried to help the subject, but chose not to. Even if he thought that there is little chance in saving him, he should have at least tried. If I was that photographer, I would not be able to sleep at night knowing that I had the chance to save that mans life, but chose to get a good photograph of the event instead. If he was in that mans situation, do you think that he would have wanted someone to help him off of the tracks, or take a photograph of him about to die? The photographer did not think about this, give any empathy, or any compassion to the subject. 

One professor from American International College once told us in class when talking about ethics "Ethics is simple, and i see it as - if you're mother hasn't taught you right or wrong by the time you're 18 - you're Scr*wed"