Photo Ethics

Hiya Ethics,

Today we’ll look briefly at the ethics of photojournalism, which was the focus of a recent Vox piece that talks about why Asians in masks shouldn’t be the face of Covid-19 coverage:

Kainaz Amaria, Vox’s visual editor, says that for these kinds of stories — ones mired in issues of identity and discrimination — news outlets must ask themselves, “Are the photographs further stigmatizing a particular community or perpetuating stereotypes?” Defaulting to using photos of Asian Americans or scenes in Chinatowns to report broadly on the coronavirus pandemic “is an editorially and ethically questionable decision,” she adds.

It’s always an ethical imperative for photos to be contextually accurate and equally important that they document what’s taking place. In what may be my favorite piece this semester, Sam Roe explains why John Filo, a Kent State student, took the iconic photos of the Ohio National Guard firing on students—and killing four of them. Other students were screaming at him for taking photos of bodies. But he had to do it:

Filo says he yelled back: “No one is going to believe this happened!”

For today, please look at the assigned readings (Roe, Hare, Frost, Elfrink), then read the short outline attached, which gives you important ethical guidelines on:

• Taking photos
• Using graphic photos
• Selecting photos generally
• Manipulating photos (NEVER!)
• Ensuring integrity of photos/video

After you’ve done the reading, click through this Reuters photo gallery from last year. It documents the U.S. Border Patrol carrying out Trump’s orders to shoot tear gas at immigrants trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico. All the photos are accurate, but they seem to tell different stories. Do some seem pro-Trump/anti-immigration? Some anti-Trump/pro-immigration? Some neutral?

Elfrink identifies the two different viewpoints:

[Some of] the images provoked outrage and seemed at odds with President Trump’s portrayal of the caravan migrants as “criminals” and “gang members.” 

Trump officials said that authorities had to respond with force after hundreds of migrants rushed the border near Tijuana on Sunday, some of them throwing “projectiles” at Customs and Border Protection personnel.

After taking all of this in, write three short grafs about your observations on 1) Roe, 2) Frost and 3) Elfrink/Reuters Photo Gallery. Use at least one quote from each, and include your own observations about the messages in these articles and the photos. This should be about one page.

Due: 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 28

This is your last assignment! You’ll want to focus all of next week on your final essay. I’ll be in touch at 10 Tuesday to see how you’re doing.

Missing you!

All best,

k