Friday, March 2, 2007
thoughts on Hunter's blog about the accident
I just read Hunter's blog on the car accident and I agree and disagree with him. I think people should be informed about what's going on in their society, but where does a photo journalist/reporter draw the line between informing citizens and overstepping personal boundaries. I think his pictures were great, they really captured and showed what happened yesterday, but I wonder, would he have taken and posted a picture of Dean Gmelch's reaction when he discovered what happened? Would that have been ethical? How does society get affected by that kind of picture? When does someone's personal grief become something that can be shared with others? Kudos to Hunter for following his journalistic instincts and going down there to take pictures and report. I agree that it's not an easy job to report or take pictures on something that others might not want you to. I think that's the tough thing that comes with the job, ultimately it's up to the person, not just as a journalist but as a human being to discern what should and should not be reported on.
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2 comments:
I think Hunter's photos on his blog reporting the accident were great.
Ethically, I don't think it's right to take pictures of things that traumatize the readers or people who are deeply affected by the incident. Well.. I take it back, maybe it won't be wrong to take such pictures, but for gory pictures to be published.. I think that would be unethical. As for the reaction of discovery.. I think it could pull in a lot more readers because it shows deep emotion and the story could have an even greater effect on the readers... of course though, I would get the permission from the Dean to publish photos of him.. if subjects are uncomfortable with those kind of photos, I wouldn't publish it..out of respect. It is tough.. but I guess it also comes down to deciding whether your job is more important than what you really care about.
I have some photos that clearly illustrate this dilemma. *Please* remind me if I don't bring them in when we talk about the ethics of photojournalism. Strong photos can elicit strong reactions can sometimes result in worthwhile change in laws, practices and so on. But as the Dean himself. My first thought is that a photo of the grieving dean would be invasive. But I'd have to see the photo. Showing the suffering of survivors could remind us that we need to drive more carefully. We need to see the photo, and we need to have the conversation.
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