Photojournalism and Social Media Report: Ethical Considerations

This report delves into the evolving landscape of photojournalism, particularly in the context of social media's pervasive influence. It examines the core principles of photojournalism, including accuracy, respect for privacy, and the importance of ethical conduct, while highlighting the shift from traditional media to platforms where anyone can be a reporter. The report discusses the challenges posed by the rapid dissemination of images, the potential for misuse of technology, and the ethical dilemmas faced by photojournalists. It emphasizes the need for careful judgment, awareness of emotional impact, and the importance of adhering to ethical codes to maintain the integrity of visual storytelling. The study also references various academic sources to support its arguments and findings.

Photojournalism and Social Media Reportage
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Author Note

Photojournalism can be referred to the form of journalism which involves collection of
images and presenting them in order to tell a story. The pictures are presented after editing in
order to represent a news through still images. In case of broadcasting which is usually done
through videos, it is called broadcast journalism. Photojournalism can be classified in two types
such as documentary photography, celebrity photography, photography associated with social
documentary or street photography. Photojournalism requires conformation within ethical
frameworks complying with strict terms of journalism. Photojournalist are required to be aware
of the situations in order to substantiate the pictures which ultimately connects with the people.
Photography in the form of social documentation is difficult to carry out, as it involves a
lot of preparation, which is not mandatory in other forms of photography practices (Allan, 2017).
It often demands long term planning in order to deliver the kind of representation a photographer
intends. However, a Photographer is also burdened with moral responsibilities which must be
abided by, in order to create images which depict the news accurately. It can thus, be stated that
it works within the ethical framework which the journalists are supposed to apply with their own
objectivity. It is a photographer’s responsibility to decide what to site because gruesome and
violent representation of any situation often leads to controversy which are uncalled for.
Every profession has its own ethics and principles which are to be followed, in order to
maintain standards and proper codes of conduct (Allan & Peters, 2015). These guidelines ensure
that no one gets to violate the ethical and moral principles within the professional framework.
The codes of ethics which a photojournalist should keep up with include strict accuracy of
events, respectful approach to privacy, integrity and dignity, truthfulness and understanding of
public interest. The purpose of photojournalism is to showcase the underlying story with one or
more images to represent it, along with an informative piece of writing. However, there are

multiple instances of discrepancies which were found with the representation. It should, thus, be
made sure that honesty and truthfulness is placed high in the order of ethics followed by the
photojournalists.
The emergence and rapid increase of dependence on social media has intensified
unethical practices of photojournalism. In the age of Social Media, anybody witnessing a crisis
or a conflicting situation becomes a reporter. Social Media has emerged as a force which has
brought the world together and centralized it. Almost everyone is to be found on the social media
platforms and it is most easy to suspend knowledge, wisdom and reason while reading or
viewing a piece of information or images (Borges-Rey, 2015). Social Media is often utilized for
unfair practices. As it takes very little time to reach a great audience and circulate a reportage,
unethical practices of journalism has increased drastically. Therefore, lack of authenticity and
accuracy is a growing problem.
A person casually witnessing a situation makes a reportage on social media by posting
pictures of the same. The ethics pertaining to photojournalism seems to be evolving as these
appear on phones and computer screens on the go rather than being restricted to the print or
newspaper media. News and information these days are more photo-centric as visual
representation is preferred and widely accepted. Therefore, it is very important to understand the
sensitivity of situations and victim’s privacy while utilizing the technological advancements
(García & Palomo, 2015). Before making a photo available on social media to a wide range of
audience, a person must use his/her best judgment. In a social media platform, it is very easy to
disseminate reason and logic and consume news in the form of photographic representation. A
photojournalist, thus, should understand the responsibilities and ethical considerations related to

it. Photojournalists can often have access to situations which are crisis stricken, whereas, privacy
and dignity of people involved must be prioritized.
Pictures have the power of translating emotions into actions, however it can also leave
great impact and influence on the viewers. As a result, if a photojournalist breaches privacy and
ethics by promoting an image of a person caught in a situation which is sensitive, it often leaves
impactful impression on them (Nilsson, 2017). When the photojournalists report to some news
organization, such occurrences get mitigated by the actions taken by senior editors and thus
tragic situations are avoided. In case of individual photojournalists, the responsibility entirely lies
on their shoulder in order to make accurate and truthful reports which meet the ethics of the
profession. With the access to social media and skills of photojournalism, reporting incidents
have become easier and convenient, therefore, misuse of technology too. Reproduction and
manipulation of images complicates and enhances the ethical issues which are involved in
Photojournalism.
As a result, it can be said that Photojournalism should be done while employing one’s
best judgment and wisdom, in order to respect the ethical codes of conduct and privacy of the
subject. It should also be kept in mind that the widespread and use of technological advancement
can act as the cause of trouble too. Photojournalism has the power to capture the truth of the
reality, therefore, paying attention to the nuances of ethics should be the foremost.

References
Allan, S. (Ed.). (2017). Photojournalism and citizen journalism: co-operation, collaboration and
connectivity. Taylor & Francis.
Allan, S., & Peters, C. (2015). Visual truths of citizen reportage: Four research problematics.
Information, Communication & Society, 18(11), 1348-1361.
Borges-Rey, E. (2015). News Images on Instagram: The paradox of authenticity in hyperreal
photo reportage. Digital Journalism, 3(4), 571-593.
García, V. G., & Palomo, B. (2015). The crisis of photojournalism: rethinking the profession in a
participatory media ecosystem. Comunicación y Sociedad, 28(4), 33.
Nilsson, M. (2017). A Faster Kind of Photojournalism?. Nordicom Review, 38(s2), 41-55.