Download Feel My Pain: an exploration of the ethics of photojournalism

Feel My Pain: an exploration of the ethics of photojournalism
Research Description
This case study is particularly interesting, since many of the issues associated with the
research are the very issues that the research is concerned with investigating. The research
grew out of the researcher’s work as a photographic journalist, and is concerned with the
ethical implications of photojournalism and photographic representation generally. The
researcher is particularly interested in the area of overlap between issues of the ethics of
representation and aesthetic choices. There is often a disparity between research ethics and
those of journalism, and of art. Each approach carries its own set of perspectives on which
ethical and moral judgements are based. Much artistic work is done on the boundaries of
these moral judgements, and the dilemma for both artist and researcher is to ensure that the
work is ethical without imposing onerous restrictions that may prevent interesting work being
done. The aim of this research is to find out where those boundaries are, and to explore
them.
Research focuses on the formal strategies that photographers use to frame, compose and
structure both their images and their bodies of work, and examines the ethical aspects of this.
Because of the nature of his own work, the researcher is particularly interested in the
portrayal of suffering, and whether it is acceptable to aestheticise in photography.
Research involves case studies, interviews with existing practitioners, and the practical
exploration of strategies for dealing with the portrayal of individual suffering. One of the ways
in which documentary photography deals with tragedy is to use the image of one individual as
a symbol for a group of people, for example, a grieving relative at a disaster. In the process
the individual’s identity becomes subverted by the iconic nature of the image. The researcher
has attempted to address this in a specific tragic situation by presenting such images, in this
case of a group of women, en masse in a grid. The women were taking part in a mass
funeral for the victims of a massacre that occurred several years ago.
Feel My Pain
Ethical issues involved
The issues are discussed in relation to the specific example of the researcher’s work, but are
illustrative of the kinds of issues related to journalism and photography generally, and the
issues that the researcher himself is investigating.
Informed Consent
The photographs were taken without seeking consent from the women. This is standard
journalistic practice. Interviews with practitioners will also involve issues of consent.
The right to withdraw
The women do not have the right or opportunity to withdraw their images.
Intrusiveness
The women were photographed, albeit at a public event, at a time of personal grief.
Visual representation of individuals or social groups
The images will form part of future publications.
Responding to the ethical issues
In this study the following procedures are employed:
Interviewees were asked to sign a consent form giving permission for their work to be quoted.
The researcher plans to show the women’s photographs to a number of support groups who
act as gatekeepers for the women. He hopes that this process will help to resolve some of
the major ethical issues.
The photographs were taken at a large-scale public event where journalistic precedent would
prevail, and would therefore be subject to professional ethics.
Ethical questions for reflection
In this research, ethical issues are explored partly through the examination of others’ work.
The practitioners involved have been interviewed and have signed a consent form that gives
permission for their work to be quoted. However, the nature of the research involves the
critical analysis of that work.
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What is the impact of obtaining consent from practitioners in this way; does it or
should it inhibit the role of the researcher as critic? Does it place greater obligations
on the researcher in terms of communicating critical observations back to the
interviewees?
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If participants give consent to the use of their words or images, does that consent
extend to the context?
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Should a researcher apply his own ethical and moral judgements to others’ work?
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If a researcher stays within the bounds of what has been consented to, does he
abnegate his responsibility to the research community?
In a controlled photographic or journalistic situation, where the journalist negotiates access,
consent can be obtained. However, such situations may often include others, for example, if
the participant is photographed in a place where others are present.
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Is there a duty to obtain consent from those who are only incidentally involved?
This research includes images taken by the researcher in conditions where other journalists
and photographers are present, and which would normally be subject to professional ethics.
In such situations, no journalist would ask for formal consent; it is assumed that by
participating in the event, those present are giving tacit permission.
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Does the researcher have ethical obligations that go beyond those s/he had when
making images in a professional journalistic context, since those involved could only
signify their lack of consent by not taking part in an event that may have importance
for them?
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At what point do the ethics of the researcher take over from those of the journalist?
The researcher plans to take the images he has taken to support groups in order to address
the ethical issues involved.
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Does this retrospective discussion compensate for the lack of prior consent?
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Under what circumstances should a researcher accept the consent of gatekeepers
rather than the individuals they represent?