ETHICS MATTERS: A Monthly Column in News Photographer magazine
Deni Elliott, Eleanor Poynter Jamison Chair in Media Ethics and Press Policy, University of South Florida (mail, web)
Paul Martin Lester, Professor, Department of Communications, CSU Fullerton (mail, web)
Photojournalism and other educators: Feel free to provide copies of these columns to your students for use in class discussions.
2004
43) May Issue: Ethics of Photojournalism Taking Ethics Seriously: To Err is Human
42) April Issue: Manipulations Reading and Seeing: When Words and Pictures Collide
41) March Issue: Manipulations Fade to Black: Ethical Practices A Matter Of What The Camera Saw
40) February Issue: Critical Thinking The Irony of the Iconic: Considering the Need for Criticism
2003
39) December Issue: A Range of Ethical Topics A Year in Review:
Looking Back in Order to Look Forward
38) November Issue: Definition of News Journalistic Pandering: Confusing Pop Culture with News
37) October Issue: Manipulations Manipulation: The Word We Love to Hate
Part Three
36) September Issue: Manipulations Manipulation: The Word We Love to Hate
Part Two
35) August Issue: Manipulations Manipulation: The Word We Love to Hate
An Investigation in Three Parts
34) July Issue: Covering War The Outrage of Governmental Distortion
33) June Issue: Manipulation Aesthetics vs. Ethics:
When Will We Ever Learn?
32) May Issue: Conflict of Interest A Classic Conflict of Interest:
A Reporter’s Free Advertisement to Himself Turns into Tragedy
31) April Issue: Photojournalism Commitment Are You an Ari or an Alice?
Learning to Live with Professional and Personal Choices
30) March Issue: Writing an Ethical Code Keeping the Code Alive: Analysis Helps it Stay Relevant
29) February Issue: The Nature of News What is News?
The Answer is Not Blowing on a Whim
28) January Issue: Praiseworthy Behavior Camaraderie over Competition:
Hey, Brother. Can you spare a card?
2002
27) December Issue: Stage-Managing Taking vs. Making Pictures:
Readers Often Don’t Know the Difference
26) November Issue: Practicing Ethics Just in Case:
Using a Systematic Analysis to Study Ethical Dilemmas
25) October Issue: Doing Good Work Why are You a Photojournalist?
It’s a Matter of Quality
24) September Issue: Learning to be Ethical Learning Ethics:
We Are All Teachers and Students
23) August Issue: Editorial Decisions Newsworthiness and Choice:
A Tale of Two Sensational Stories
22) July Issue: Comparing Past with Present Images Watching and Participating:
A Lesson Learned from a Visit to Hiroshima
21) June Issue: Cultural Sensitivity and Privacy Shooting and Showing Without Consent:
A Cultural Controversy
20) May Issue: Embarrassing Pictures as an Etiquette Issue When Does a Kiss Become a Kiss-Off?
Sometimes It’s a Matter of Taste
19) April Issue: Shocking Images and Contests And the Winner Is…
A Picture Too Brutal to Show
18) March Issue: Photojournalism Practice Excuses and Other Moral Mistakes:
Taking Responsibility for your Actions
17) February Issue: Funeral Coverage Newsworthy death need not be a cliche
16) January Issue: Special Effects in TV News Stories All that Glitters May Be Too Bold:
Small Effects Speak to Larger Issues
2001
15) December Issue: Showing those Accused of Crimes Pictorial Punishments:
When the Coverage Doesn’t Fit the Crime
14) November Issue: Appropriation vs. Fair Use 9-11 and the Ethics of Patriotism:
When is it Okay to Break the Law?
13) October Issue: Journalist Impersonators Is Helping the Police Ever Over the Thin Blue Line?
12) September Issue: Images and Image Makers from 9-11 From Great Tragedy, Humanity is Found
11) August Issue: Coverage of the Accused Responsible Journalism is Accountable Journalism
10) July Issue: Paying for Video Video ‘Wars’ Obscure News:
But they shed light on news conventions
9) June Issue: Living an Ethical Life When Worlds Connect:
Ethical Behavior is a Life-Long Journey
8) April Issue: Showing Gruesome Images When You Need To Know, But Don’t Need To See
7) March Issue: Friends and Family Coverage Is it Ethics or Etiquette to Ban Those You Know From the Media?
6) February Issue: Learning from Movies Media Ethics Goes to the Movies:
What Photojournalism Films Can Teach Us About Our Profession
5) January Issue: Who is a Journalist? A Journalist Is Anyone Who Gets the Pictures,
But At What Price?
2000
4) December Issue: Photojournalism Practice To Shoot or Not to Shoot:
When is it Not Okay to Take a Picture?
3) November Issue: Using Gruesome Images Good Journalism Isn’t Always Nice Journalism
When “The Harsh Truth” is the Right Ethical Choice
2) October Issue: Picture Manipulations Do Minor Touch-Ups Foretell a Slide Down the Slippery Slope?
1) September Issue: What is Photojournalism Ethics? On the Difference Between Aesthetics, Etiquette, and Ethics