History of Photojournalism: The Ethics of Photojournalism

Back when photojournalism first began you never really seen photo manipulation, but unfortunately it has become easier and easier for photojournalists to manipulate their images. Unfortunately some photojournalists tamper with their photos despite the code of ethics there are supposed to follow. The NPPA in the code of ethics states, “Do not manipulate images or add or alter sound in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.” This means that photojournalists by any means should abide by this, but unfortunately there are cases where they do not.

A big example of a photo being manipulated was on June 27, 1994 when Time Magazine altered OJ Simpson’s mugshot. According to one article, “Time Magazine and Newsweek Magazine both published the same image as the cover photo and had it not been for that Time’s Magazine would have probably gotten away with their manipulation of his mugshot.” Time Magazine titled it “An American Tragedy” as Newsweek Magazine simply titled it “Trail of Blood.” “Time darkened the photocreating a five o’clock shadow and a more sinister look,” it was clear they were finding him guilty before the case even ended. This is a clear break of the of the photographer ethics, let alone racial ethics. They were deceiving the public, which damages the magazines credibility. So now when looking at this specific magazine people need to think to themselves, “is this real or are they deceiving me?”

According to my own codes of ethics altering this image the way they did would have definitely violated my code of ethics. In my code of ethics among many things I value honestly, loyalty, and respect. It is clear Time Magazine was being dishonest and unloyal to the public and its viewers who believed in them and believed all of their images were unmanipulated images. It is also clear they had a lack of respect for OJ Simpson himself and they just wanted to portray him as guilty. In my code of ethics I would no longer be able to believe this magazine and I would feel as if I needed to constantly question the honestly of their images.

If I were working for this magazine I would have never risked the code of ethics I am supposed to abide by. Photojournalist are supposed to, “treat all subjects withrespect and dignity.” By doing what they did to OJ Simpson’s mugshot they were not following their code of ethics. This was not a fair thing to and it was very biased in my opinion. I also do see that the photojournalist code of ethics is taken seriously as many have been fired for the manipulation of images, which is why I believe Time Magazine lost much of its credibility.