Introduction
News and information are critical issues in today’s society following their role. The public relies on various media houses to provide factual and correct information daily to stay informed. In this field of news production, multiple professionals, such as photographers and journalists, work together to deliver the most accurate pieces of information to the awaiting public. In the US, the NPPA regulates the services provided by photographers in visual journalism. The organization lays the ground rules, like the codes of conduct for visual journalism, to ensure that photographers do not interfere with the ethics of society when they are carrying out their duty (NPPA Code of Ethics, 2022). Despite the presence of NPPA, some media houses have, at one point, gone against the code of ethics and published disturbing images for the public to see. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a case by explaining the situation, analyzing it, and deciding whether John Harte’s photograph captured the moment when a 5-year-old Edward Romero, whose body had been recovered from a lake, was shown to his family was newsworthy.
Situation Definition
In 1984, John Harte, a photographer from Bakersfield, California, took a photo of Edward Romero’s body which had been retrieved from the lake. Edward was five years old, and his body had been recovered and was shown to his family upon retrieval. In the photo, it was visible that the family members were grieving Edward, who was in a body bag. His face could also be seen, making the viewers feel the rawness of the photo, the intimacy, and the horrific nature of the situation. The Californian had a policy of not publishing pictures of dead bodies, but this time, it was not the case. Instead, the manager of the news firm approved the news to be run. Robert Bentley defended his decision by insisting that the picture could serve as a warning about the dangers of the lake. However, the publishing firm received warnings through phone calls, subscription cancellations, a bomb threat, and letters (Student Notes, 2022). Irrespective of this, a sender replied through a letter that the picture could help prevent future drowning incidents. In addition, 14 people had drowned in the lake two months before Romero’s happened, and only two drownings were reported after the picture was published in the newspapers.
Analysis of the Situation
The photographer and Robert Bentley did not consider the social contract theory. According to the social contract theory, we have to imagine the rules rational beings would agree to during the decision-making process to determine the ethical rules to follow. Media houses aim to ensure that proper and appropriate news is passed. The publication of the photograph in the information attracted criticism in California. The numbers show that many citizens disagreed with Bentley’s decision to run the news in a magazine leading to many phone calls and even a bomb threat.
John Harte broke NPPA’s code of ethics which insisted that all subjects should be treated with dignity and respect by giving special consideration to their vulnerabilities. The image captures the family’s vulnerable moments as they grieve one of their death. Emotions tend to be expressed differently depending on a story or a photograph that connects them to a given event, and it is through such publications that viewers get connected emotionally. However, this may be against the policy of given states such as California, which does not advocate for the publication of dead bodies. The challenge of how such news is perceived and analyzed by viewers depends on the nature of the image used. In a study by Keib et al. (2018), it was found that publications with positive images triggered higher emotional levels than those that contained neutral or negative images. Through this, photographers enable viewers to possess a deeper understanding of how photographs or publications can be used to increase the consumption of news in given events that require awareness. According to NPPA, publications are allowed to use stories and photographs to present an event, including the drowning case presented in the case study.
Therefore, photographers should not go to such lengths to achieve the desired emotional effect. They should not go against the right of a family to grieve privately because it is newsworthy. The photographer should not have included the image of the dead boy in the picture. California failed in its duty to prevent publishing such horrific images in its magazines. But the public did their part by criticizing the news. Furthermore, the picture went against another code of ethics which states that a photographer must strive to be discreet and humble in dealing with subjects (NPPA Code of Ethics, 2022). John and Bentley failed to maintain the high standards in NIPPA’s code of ethics.
Despite the criticism, it is hard to assume that the image might have helped, just like Bentley thought. The facts show that after the photograph was published, deaths dropped from 14 to 2 (Student Notes, 2022). It was a significant milestone despite the publishing firm using unconventional methods to warn the public about the dangers of the lake.
Conclusion
Publishing the image was wrong since it exposed a dead body and Romero’s family in its vulnerable moment. The photo went against the code of ethics, making it unconstitutional and derailing the public. It was also immoral since the message passed was harsh and horrific to the people instead of convincing and informative to the public about the importance of personal safety. The photographers such as John and managers such as Bentley should consider Kantianism when making decisions that directly affect the information given to the public (Sebo, 2022). More consultations should be made before such a decision is made to prevent another public outburst similar to the one explained in this case.
References
Keib, K., Espina, C., Lee, Y. I., Wojdynski, B. W., Choi, D., & Bang, H. (2018). Picture this: The influence of emotionally valenced images, on attention, selection, and sharing of social media news. Media Psychology, 21(2), 202-221. DOI:10.1080/15213269.2017.1378108
NPPA Code of ethics. (2022).National Press Photographers Association.
Sebo, J. (2022). Kantianism for humans, utilitarianism for nonhumans? Yes and no. Philosophical Studies.
Student Notes. (2022). The Case Study.