What is photojournalism anyway? : photojournalism ethical dilemmas

There is often a fine line between telling the truth, and going too far. The same can be true for the ethics of photojournalism. While the purpose of the profession is to “expose the truth” in the sense that images allow real life events o be captured and shared with the world, often times, the truth can hurt and may be better left documented in a more subtle way. In an image captured by Paul Hansen in 2010, this question of photojournalism ethics becomes especially applicable. This image is of a 15 year old girl shot and killed by police officers in Haiti. It is speculated that the girl was shot intentionally as police believe that she was a “looter” however no evidence can prove that she was steeling, or that the shots were intentional. The image shows the girl lying on a building, bleeding from the head on top of several framed pictures. It is a gruesome display of a tragic event. The girl is only 15, she is visibly dead, bleeding from the skull. Other images released of the girl from another angle show additional photographers crowding around to capture the event. Furthermore, the image captured by Hansen later won an award at the Sweedish Picture of the Year Awards for “Best International News Image”.

Image Source: http://petapixel.com/2011/03/29/debate-over-fabienne-cherisma-photo-rekindled-after-award-given/
Image By: Paul Hansen
Image Date: 2010

Controversy erupted in the news about whether or not the image should have been displayed at all considering the age of the victim. Many people exclaimed that there were plenty of images that documented that tragedy of the disaster occurring at that time, and that this girl and her family deserved privacy. Others felt that the true controversy came later when the image won the award. Another question of ethics was considered as images surfaced of the father carrying his dead daughter over his shoulder, clearly distraught. Many more considered the ethical question to come from the image that displayed other photojournalists crowding around the girl trying to each “get their shot”. Regardless of the perspective, many people around the world were displeased with the distribution of this photograph.

Image Source: http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2011/04/07/is-this-photo-ethical/
Image By: Nathan Weber
Image Date: 2010

This image also touched on another aspect of controversy that was discussed in this module. After the image became a news story, and additional images of the event were released, it became evident that the original photo by Hansen made use of a wide angle lens, allowing the perspective and subsequently that power of the photo to change from its original form. Other photos, like the one showing additional photographers in the background were described as “more real” and “true photojournalism” because they described the event from a snapshot perspective, rather than as a story. Additionally, during the time between the original image, and the later ones, the body position of the girl changed. Though some people speculated that this was the doing of news reporters and photojournalists to convey a specific feeling, the original photographer, Hansen, later explained that the girl had been moved by the looters who came to search her body and steal from her pockets after she was killed. Many people however believe that the girl’s position was altered for image purposes which only increased the controversy of the image.

While I understand that the image helps to convey the tragedy if the event and display what was happening at the time, I struggle to accept that the image is ethical. The photojournalists are just doing their job by documenting the event, but my heart is torn as I think of how this girl will be remembered and seen by the world. I feel for her family, though it has been reported that they gave consent for the image to be released. In a news article from "The Guardian" her father described her as “very intelligent; her head was full of knowledge”, yet people will not know her for that. There are no pictures of her smiling, enjoying life, being with her friends and family, only these pictures of her tragic death. The ethics of this picture impede on my values of privacy and the rights that individuals have to sharing emotional aspects of their lives. Photojournalism such as this image may achieve the goal of exposing current events, but it also exposed parts of that girls life which are better left to her family.