ethics of photojournalism

[arjen van de merwe]

<p>Teaching photojournalism, I am looking for an article (preferably rather long) that covers an ontroduction to the ethics of photojournalism, with theory and practical examples. Googling I found:<br>

Photojournalism, an ethical approach by Paul Lester.<br>

He has a few good points, but I find it a bit lacking in theory. His practical examples are all from the US, and I am teaching in Malawi, Africa. Does anyone know of a good web article in this area?</p>

[starvy]

<p>Arjen,<br>

Is it possible for you to take the precepts as discussed in the book and think of practical similarities in Africa? For instance, for any given example, the recent events in Egypt and Libya should provide topical responses. The apartheid era in South Africa should also provide examples?<br>

The problem with Africa is that sub-saharan parts of it, other than South Africa is still lacking in the infrastructure of academia where publication is widespread on any subject are other than the most traditional. So Ideally, you are looking for a book that would discuss the contemporary issues surrounding photojournalism in the dark continent but chances are that you might find books that covers reportage in general from the colonial era.</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>Arjen - </p>

<p>A few years back there was an excellent article on SportsShooter.com - I can't remember the author, but I do remember the story that he told. And it was country / location neutral. </p>

<p>If you go over there and do a search you might find it. It was published at about the time when there was a big photoshop scandal for a photographer in the states admitting that he photoshopped the legs of a baseball player (visible only under a sign in the background) out of the photo. Of course this was at the same time as another photographer in the middle east admitted that he merged two photos together to represent a scene in Iraq and another in the same region admitted that he added some rockets to another photo to enhance the effect. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

[arjen van de merwe]

<p>Thank you Starvy. I can try to find similar examples, by talking to experienced collegues here. It seems outrage by readers about a photo is quite rare in Malawi. Legal situations do from time to time occur.</p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>I can't help thinking this is such a rapidly changing thing that writing a book before it's obsolete would be pretty challenging. It was once considered unethical to expose the sexual adventures of American presidents in the press, or FDR's disabilities. Bill Clinton found out that had changed. I'd be interested in knowing if there are any ethical principals that most photographers still adhere to. Maybe the amount of modification a picture undergoes? </p>

[kevin_omura]

<p>I think in some ways the media outlet you are working for may also have some guidance in terms of what it expects and what it does not. Granted not so sure these days given the mess News Corp is in but most large and probably most small newspapers likely have some sort of code of conduct or ethics that they expect their staff to follow.</p>

<p>At the newspaper I work at we have a code of conduct and what was expected in terms of ethics when it came to how photos were enhanced before getting into the system. What David Haas is referring to. We've caught some doozies in the past as well, one of my favorites was two pucks in a hockey photo. The photographer claimed it was some sort of glitch in the camera, no way, the puck was added to make the shot look better but in doing so destroyed all credibility that photographer had and brings into question all work by all photographers. Sadly a side effect of Photoshop....</p>

<p>Is that what you are searching for or is it more along the lines of the actual mindset of the photographer, eg paparazzi vs photojournalist vs documentary photographers.....</p>

<p>Each photographer is going to be different and that comes from their backgrounds and their built in moral compass I would suspect. Granted the camera can be a great insulator allowing you do disconnect sometimes from the horror you might be photographing still it is the brain and heart behind the camera that is going to be the deciding factor.... I think if you can give your students a push in the right direction they will take it from there. </p>

<p>An American Group, the Nation Press Photographers Association has a code of ethics posted to their website. A large number of Canadian and American and possibly other photojournalists from around the world are members and this might be a starting point?</p>

<p>http://www.nppa.org/professional_development/business_practices/ethics.html</p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>Sorry, my browser reposted.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Photojournalism is certainly its own field, and others will probably come up with something close to what you're asking about.</p>

<p>However, the Code of Ethics of the American Anthropological Association deals with closely related topics in that the investigator has an obligation to both the discipline/profession on the one hand, and to the people being reported on, on the other.</p>

<p>http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/ethcode.htm - the statement is given there and there is a link to download a pdf.</p>

[john_macpherson]

<p>Some material you may find valuable in these two links (and maybe further links to more within them).</p>

<p>First example is very interesting and possibly useful.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.david-campbell.org/2011/07/16/thinking-images-v-20-famine-iconography-failure/"> Famine iconography</a></p>

<p><a href="http://duckrabbit.info/blog/">duckrabbit</a></p>

[adeboye_ola]

<p>As an African teaching Photojournalism in Nigeria , I can appreciate the challenges Merwe is facing.Journalism association in each country has a code of ethics for their members which often times is too broad and generalised to take care of the special needs of Photojournalism.The fact that many media organisations have not seen the need for a documented photo policy makes the topic more difficult to handle in this part of the world. The major issue ,especially here in Nigeria, is that photography as a medium of communication is yet to be accorded its importance in news coverage.This probably explain why there is a paucity of local materials on photojournalism ethics.You may take a look at theTanzanian code of ethical practice for media photographers and video. It is illuminating.<br>

Adeboye Ola</p>

[arjen van de merwe]

<p>Thank you Adeboye, I'll do that</p>