Unknown American Photojournalist (Sanders, Karen, Ethics & Journalism p 102)
It should come as no surprise to anyone that reporting suffering is fraught with difficulties. To see someone crying is to see them vulnerable and exposed. In most people, it is something which urges us either to offer comfort or to turn away. All in all, it demands our utmost respect.
Where, then, does all this leave the journalist? After all, for the person whose job it is to report or photograph news, they have a duty to broadcast information. Some would argue that this doesn’t necessarily make reporters ‘vultures’ or soulless scavengers.
When it comes to photojournalism however, where exactly do we draw the line? Which images should Editors consider to be of ‘public interest’ and which ones simply go too far? For one woman, who was filmed reacting hysterically to the news that her daughter had died in a plane crash, the only feeling she was left with was that she had been ‘visually raped’ by the media. (Sanders, p 103)
In 1993, photojournalist Kevin Carter took a photograph of an emaciated Sudanese toddler being stalked by a vulture as she made her way to a feeding centre. Too weak to continue, the little girl had curled up on the ground, and the vulture had landed behind her. It is believed that Carter took twenty minutes to take the photo, in his attempt to capture the perfect shot.
Carter went on to win a Pulitzer prize for his accomplishment. Two months later, he committed suicide. His death came after widespread criticism that questioned the moral implications of his actions. If he had been able to take the photo, people wanted to know, why had he not gone and found help? Why didn’t he pick her up and carry her himself? What had happened to the girl after the picture was taken?
Carter told the Time’s picture editor that he was sure the girl had made it to the feeding station. But the disturbing nature of the photograph clearly bothered people. In situations such as these, was it right for a journalist to stand by and photograph suffering when they could be doing something to help? Or, as some reporters believe, is their first duty to observe and report the news, and not to try and change it?
Filmmaker Dan Krauss said, "In his famous picture of the vulture stalking the Sudanese girl, I began to see the embodiment of his troubled psyche. I believe Kevin did, too. In the starving child, he saw Africa's suffering; in the preying vulture, he saw his own face." (More on this here and here)
All this seems to beg this important question: are you a journalist first, and a member of the human race second?
