The Ethical Responsibility of Photojournalism

Olivia Brewer

ob33ohio@gmail.com

The visual aspect of journalism is just as important as the textual information of a piece. The message captured in a picture can transcend time or even language. Because photography is a great tool for communication, photojournalism is a unique tool for journalism. However, it also has a unique code of ethics that should be considered with each photo that is published.

There are guidelines for constructing photos to be appropriate for journalism, but there is also an ethical responsibility that goes beyond the rules reserved for things like digital doctoring or photo manipulation. Photojournalists have the responsibility of crafting a visual message, but they need to be mindful of the power this responsibility affords them.

“[P]hotography remains one of the most effective ways to communicate across the barriers of culture, language, time and experience,” writes Eleanor Scott for Gobe Magazine, “Sometimes it just needs to be in the right hands.”

Because visual communication is so effective, photojournalists have the power to influence the message independent from the content of the story. Before publishing, photojournalists have the ethical responsibility to consider who their image will impact and make a decision from there.

Who will the photograph impact?

The role of journalism is to keep the public safe and informed. However, there are risks involved: The process of informing the public and keeping people safe can overlap, especially in photo documentation. 

At times, sharing photos of serious issues can be disturbing to some audiences or pose a risk to the safety of those photographed. Sometimes, photojournalists have to show imagery that might offend their audience. Other times, the images published might expose the identity of the subjects in the photo and put them at risk. 

When the Black Lives Matter protests started across the nation, concerns about public safety and police facial recognition technology quickly arose. Newsrooms faced requests to take down images of protesters or at least alter the photos to blur out faces. While these images were published to inform the public of the protests, it quickly became an issue of public safety. 

Photo-Illustration: by Preeti Kinha; Photo: Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images
Retrieved from: https://www.thecut.com/2020/06/face-of-a-dissident.html

Making a Decision

In her opinion piece, NPR’s Public Editor, Kelly McBride examined the issues and consequences the situation presents. Her response to the ethical documentation of protests comes in two parts: She acknowledges that the concerns are valid, but debates that manipulating the images in photo documentation will introduce a new host of ethical dilemmas. 

“Blurring images is a form of photo manipulation that makes them less true, and is generally an unacceptable practice for documentary photography,” says McBride. She goes on to point out that visible faces are what make photo documentation so powerful. Without seeing the faces of the protesters, the story would feel incomplete or emotionless.

The threat of protesters being fired from their jobs, charged with a crime or other serious risks should still be a concern for photojournalists; however, there is no justification for altering an image in journalism. McBride identifies ways to bypass these issues. She advises photographers to ask protesters for their names so that the protesters have a foothold if they request the photo be taken down from a news site.

The ethical responsibility of photojournalism is complex. Some of it depends on personal conscience. Like with every piece of news, disclosing any aspect of the subject’s personal life should be considered before the story is published. And like with every piece of news, it may be up to the journalist to determine what is and isn’t appropriate for publication beyond photo construction itself.