Code of Ethics - To print or not to print

The case study that I chose to discus was Visualizing September 11th(Case2-C). The reason why I chose this particular case was because it hit so close to home. I am sure that most of us, if not all of us, remember what were doing that day that subsequently changed our lives forever. The particular issue in this case was when, AP photographer, Richard Drew photographed people jumping from the World Trade Towers during the attacks on 9/11, including one man, who was in many frames, wearing a white coat and dark pants. These pictures were then used in many newspapers and magazines as coverage of this tragic story. This however is where the dilemma lies. After seeing these pictures published many raised questions and complaints, saying that there is no need to have these graphic images. With that I fallowed up on National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), and looked p their code of ethics.

One of the main focuses in NPPA’s Code of Ethics is photo alterations and staged photos, which clearly this is not. But it also says in the Code of Ethics to treat all subjects with respect and dignity. To “give special consideration to vulnerable subject and compassion to the victims of crime and tragedy.” How the text is stated above, some may believe that such a picture is going against this code of ethics. I, however, have to disagree. This day was tragic for the nation, so I feel that it in some way this photo had the right to be published and the facts still have the right to be told, even if the facts are hard to bear. During the time of reading this case and writing this I couldn’t stop thinking about these pictures that I have seen during the Holocaust. Most of you should have seen them too. The photos that I am talking about are the hundreds of starved bodies lying dead in a pit. Though these are two very different times in history I believe that both still fall along the same lines, and the dignity and respect of those who have passed away are never lost. However if the circumstances were different and this was a picture of a man jumping off of a building to commit suicide, then this picture would go against the NPPA’s Code of ethics. Any with that person’s respect and dignity is lost in the photograph, and this picture would not have the right to be shown.

In what we have learned from class, I think that the two ethical perspectives that the NPPA’s Code of Ethics reflects are Communitarianism and Rational vs. Emotion. Communitarianism is where the community’s interests are more important than the individuals. With this case study in particular, I feel that is the reason why this picture was published. Because the reasoning behind why the picture, of the man jumping, was published is greater then any individuals complaint about the picture. And the reason why I think that Rational vs. Emotion also reflects the NPPA’s Code of Ethics is because of that fact that you have to think rationally before you act as a photographer. A couple of the codes that come to mind are # 7. Do not pay sources and # 8. Do not accept gifts from those who might seek influence coverage. At first (emotionally) its sounds good, but after you think about it (rationally) it’s not as good as it sounds. You have to think about what you are taking pictures of before you click for the shutter. As Alfred Eisenstaedt once said, “you have to be as much diplomat as a photographer.”