Thursday, June 12, 2014

Chapter 7 The Ethics of Photojournalism

Image By: Worldpress.com



I am sure many of us have seen recent media of the true side of how much you can edit an image. As photojournalists we come across the ethical dilemma on a day to day basis of how much editing is too much editing. We want to edit the image so that it is visually appealing and grabs the reader’s attention. On the other hand we don’t want to change the image in any way that it morphs and bends the truth behind the photo.
The NPPA “the voice of visual journalists” states in there code of ethics two topics that the media has been proven to not live by.
5.   While photographing subjects do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events.(NPPA)
6. Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images' content and context. Do not manipulate images or add or alter sound in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.(NPPA)
So why is it we do this? The current beauty media has a negative reputation for altering images. The world has such a morphed sense of what is beautiful that they will go to any length to change an image to make it to todays “standards”. World press starts off with the topic of “When you are in media management, you hold to reigns not only to what information people get, but how they get it, in what order they see or hear it and sometimes how they feel about it”(worldpress).

By editing these images we are ultimately lying to the viewers. Not by words like we are normally used to, but if we change something to make it different is also a form of lying. This is an ethical dilemma that will take time to wade through and get rid of. If we stop lying to the public of what is a standard in beauty, than maybe we will see less and less young girls trying to be who they are not. 

Video by YouTube user: President of the World

Image By: Nitro Magazine 




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