Reading Summary #2: Ethics of Disaster Photography

http://carltonblogwork.blogspot.com/2012/11/ethical-issues.html

Ethics of Disaster Photography in the Age of Social Media (ESMG 4200)

By Ray Huntzinger

Reference:

Hawking, T. (2013, April). Ethics of disaster photography in the age
of social media. Flavorwire. Retrieved on September 13, 2013, from
http://flavorwire.com/385270/the-ethics-of-disaster-photography-in-the-age-of-social-media/

Theme:

The theme of the article was a discussion on whether or not the news
media is acting ethically when they show graphic photographs of
victims during a disaster, especially when social media has no
restraints on ethical depictions.

Summary:

--In the past media outlets were able to decide which photographs were
acceptable and tasteful for public viewing.

--The advent of the internet, phone cameras, and social media outlets
has ensured that nearly any incident of consequence will be documented
by photographs and subsequently distributed on social media outlets.

--Extremely disturbing photographs during 911 prompted discussion on
what sorts of photographs are acceptable for release by media outlets.

--Media professionals disagree on whether or not the media is ethical
when they publish very graphic photographs.

--One line of thinking from media professionals is that the
questionable images will be available through social media outlets
regardless of media interference; therefore, the media may as well
publish photographs to tell the story.

--Other media professionals feel that it is the ethical responsibility
for media outlets to censor photographs to protect the public from
unnecessarily graphic or disturbing images.

--Finally, the article compares opinions on whether the abundance of
graphic photographs available to the public make the public "numb" to
a disaster or create traumatic stressors to the public at large.

Application to the lesson topic:

One component of the lesson topic is the responsibility of the media
to comply with a certain set of journalistic ethics. Whether or not
media outlets are acting ethically when they portray all available
photographs or acting unethically by holding back photographic
information is debated in the article. The article also debates how
these images affect the mental welfare of the public. Both of these
discussions are directly related to how the media interacts with the
public and emergency responders which is a focus of the lesson topic.

Application to emergency services:

The article is directly related to emergency services because it
emphasizes the importance of social media in our society, especially
in terms of disaster photography. The speed and level at which social
media distributes information and photographs can directly affect how
the public perceives emergency services during disaster response; in
other words, photographs can either make emergency services look
effective or appear to be inept.

Journalism Ethics

Ashley Burningham

Reference:
Schminke, M. (2009). EDITOR'S COMMENTS: THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE--ETHICS AND INTEGRITY IN THE PUBLISHING PROCESS. Academy Of Management Review, 34(4), 586-591. doi:10.5465/AMR.2009.44882922

Theme:
While there are clear ethical standards for journalists, they aren't formally audited and many of them are unethical.

Summary:
- Journalism isn't monitored by a formal auditing process.
- Work depends on foundation of individual professionalism and responsibility.
- Ethics = fairness
- Reporters use "I didn't know" excuse.
- Some reporters have a formal review that evaluates theorizing, analysis, and conclusions, but it isn't common.
- Some journalists are unaware of ethical standards.
- Academy of Management Code of Ethics identifies both general principles and specific standards.
- Three principles: 1. responsibility 2. Integrity 3. Respect for people's rights and dignity
- Includes human relations, privacy, public statements, research and publication, and ascribing to the code of ethics
- No plagiarism
- Not all journalists are ethical.
- Submit papers similar to old rejected ones
- Serendipity in identifying problematic discovery
- Regular for experienced authors to violate
- Most ethical violations are intentional.
- Plausible deniability= ignorant/innocent
- Wide variety of unethical actions

Application to Lesson Topic:
The lesson this week had to do with ethical components of media coverage. This article discusses the ethical standards for journalists and describes possible excuses for unethical actions by journalists. It also notes that many experiences journalists intentionally practice unethically.

Application to Emergency Services:
It is important to understand the entire picture revolved around journalism. It is important to understand that not all journalists are intentionally unethical. While journalists can make the job of emergency responders more difficult, it is important to understand that they are only doing their job. We should strive to have a rapport with journalists to avoid unnecessary and unwanted media attention.

Research about the Mass Media and Disaster: Never (Well Hardly Ever) the Twain shall meet

Sylvia Keareney

References:  McEntire, D. A. (2007). Disciplines, Disasters and Emergency Management: The Convergence and Divergence of Concepts, Issues and Trends From the Research Literature. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD. (Chapter 6, pp 75)

 Theme:  Everyone has their own opinion as to what might happen after a major disaster, however definitive knowledge only comes from first hand experience. This includes Mass Communication and Journalism. Most of the time opinions are different and knowledge is hardly ever shared, which causes irreconcilable differences.

Summary:

There is a substantial research by scholars in a number of disciplines and by scholars in Journalism and Mass Communications. The two appear unaware of what each other is doing.
Cross-referencing is rare. The scholarship shows that the media can play a critical role before, during and after such incidents.
The media are essential, for example, for warnings to be effective and may be the single most important source of public information in the wake of a disaster.
The scholarship also shows that media reports that distort what happens in a disaster and lead to misunderstandings.
Failure by officials to issue a warning, may be a result of the myth that people panic, a myth perpetuated by the media.
Media scholarship also shows, however, that in one area where the media are often criticized they are not guilty as charged: the limited research available suggests many victims and relatives of victims welcome the presence of the media and do not see journalists as intruders.
Application to the Lesson Topic: The word is unity. A common ground, a change of culture, a change of values and norms are necessary to see improvements. As Rudyard Kipling once said, “Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” (Kipling, R.) If Mass Communication and Journalism could get together and communicate and share information instead creating this marketing strategy of competition, we would be a lot more informed. For example, if I have an idea and you have an idea, we both have only one idea. However, if I share my idea with you and you share your idea with me, then we both have two ideas.

Application to Emergency Services: Emergency Services has become an important stepping-stone for the media. Through media is where information reaches the consumer. As participants in EMS, a better image can be gleaned, which could benefit EMS as a whole with possible funding for educating employees, better equipment, (like in Detroit) and other programs. “Be Prepared,” isn’t a far-fetched motto of the Boy Scouts of America. It’s a mantra everyone should follow.

Additional References

East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. (n.d.). The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved September 05, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet

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Divergence of Duty: Differences in Legal and Ethical Responsibilities

Waco Siege

Robert Letterman

Lesson 2 Reading Summary

Reference

Hindman, E. B. (1999). Divergence of Duty: Differences in Legal and Ethical Responsibilities. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 213-230.

Theme

An Analysis of the assault on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco Texas and the legal and ethical questions relating to how the media conducted themselves before and during the raid.

Summary

·        Hindman discusses the relationship between ethical and legal duties.  Laws in a society usually come from ethical stances of that society.

·        Background of Vernon Howell aka David Koresh, the leader is discussed.

·        The ATF began investigating the cult in 1992.  The investigation focused on Federal gun charges.

·        The Waco Tribune Herald was also researching and in the process of doing a seven part story on David Koresh to expose allegations of child sexual abuse.

·        The ATF makes plans to raid the compound and asks the Herald to delay the release of their story.  The Herald then asks the ATF when the raid will take place, the ATF refuses to reveal plans for the raid.

·        On the day of the raid a newspaper photographer inadvertently tipped off a mailman who happened to be Koresh's brother-in-law.

·        Four ATF agents in the firefight and many others were wounded.

·        Families of the fallen agents and ATF agents themselves file lawsuits against the various media organizations involved.  The suit accused them of negligence.

·        Judge Smith's opinion was that the media was negligent in their behavior and they did not act as reasonable individuals under the circumstances.

·        The case was settled before it went to trial.

Application to Topic

During the course of the events in Waco, federal law enforcement sought to maintain some element of surprise regarding the raid and investigation while local media felt it their duty to report their story.  The relationship between the two parties was not good and therefore played a role in how the events played out.

Application to Emergency Services

It's important for Emergency Services to establish a healthy working relationship with the media.  Both sides need to understand each other's objectives and then work towards the greatest good.  In this case local media was certainly unethical with their behavior.  But it appears the relationship between the two parties may have been strained prior to Waco.

The economics of Media vs Emergency Services

John Scardena

Reference:

Mosseau, M. (2002). Market Civilization and It's Clash with Terror. International Security, Vol. 27 No.3, pg. 5-29. 

Theme:

Economics play a major role in the fight against terrorism, this also applies to for profit entities and how they financially wage war against while non profit or government fight this war.

Summary:

-Markets work against terror indvidulism

-Finanncing terrorism post 9/11 is incredibly difficult

-Fighting terrorism is not cost effective but money gains from paying attention to it is a multi-billion industry

-The world is connected by a market economy

-The world is paying attention to what is going on around them, they are paying for the abiltity to have their eyes and ears connected to what is going on around them.

-Homeland security and other military groups are spending money to advertise their call to arms.

Application to Lesson Topic:

In researching this week's lesson I found that the arguments for and against the press being involved with emergency response came down to money. Does the fact that media is for profit make the media not trust worthy? Or is it a side bar to the fact that they are the ones getting the message out there? The reason I choose this paper is the fact that we need the media to let us know what is going on around us. We "need" it so much that mass media is making billions telling us their opinions about the World around us. We need them just as they need us.

Application to Emergency Services:

            Emergency services need to do a gut self check. The fact that any emergency service can spread their message so fast because of mass media and social media should be more giving it. If we work with media and not against or hiding from them, we will discover that if they are on our side, we will accomplish our goals of helping people and spreading the voice of warning or assurance.  

Lesson 2 Reading Summary: Divergence of Duty

Reading Summary 2:

Jeff Neal, Sept. 12, 2013

Reference: Hindman, Elizabeth Blanks (1999), Divergence of Duty: Difference in legal and Ethical Responsibilities. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, vol.14 issue 4, p213

Theme: Although law and ethics intertwine and often share vocabulary, they are different.  

Summary:

·         The ATF was investigating the Davidians, a religious group known as the Branch Davidians, for  possession of weapons and potential gun law violations. The Davidians lived on a 70 acre compound in Waco Texas. The ATF (Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) planned and set a target date for the arrest of Koresh and search of the compound.

·         In addition the Waco Tribune-Herald newspaper was investigating Koresh the Davidians' leader and planned a seven-part series, discussing allegations of child sexual abuse and concerns that authorities were doing nothing.

·         On February 28, 1993 the ATF raided the compound and a shootout between the Davidians and agents from the ATF began.  When it was over, four federal agents and a number of Davidians dead, and more wounded. The standoff lasted 51 days.  Over this time more than 75 Davidians  and ATF agents were killed, and more were wounded.

·         Hindman stated that the shootout began a series of legal and ethical discussions about the local media's role in the initial shootout, culminating in an SPJ Waco Task Force report and over 100 lawsuits--later combined into a single case--claiming the media's negligence caused the injuries and deaths of the ATF agents.

·         ATF and Tribune-Herald officials of Waco met many times to discuss what was happening.  The ATF requested that the media delay their publication and TV series several times over the 51 days, but the media refused to delay the publication.  The media reviled when the raids would take place, and other important information about the ATFD activities.  The release of the information was being watched by the Davidians which gave them all the information they needed to prepare for the ATF raid.

·         The ATF argued that the Medias release of information about the raid caused the death and injury to the agents in the raid. The law at issue in this case is of negligence, "failure to exercise that degree of care which a person of ordinary prudence would exercise under the same circumstances".

Application to the lesson topic: The media can act within the law but not act ethically.   This article addresses what cause the shooting in Waco Texas, in 1993. The media played a major role in what happens.  They did not break the law but acted unethically and their actions which caused harm and contributed to the agents and Davidians that were shoot that day.  The media violated their ethical duty to minimize harm.  The AFT should have controlled what they released to the media and done a better job of maintain security of information.

Application to emergency services: It's important that we remember that the media has a different objective when they respond to an incident.  They are there to get a good story.  They will at times do whatever necessary to accomplish their goal.  We can control this by keeping a secure scene and establishing a perimeter around the scene allowing only emergency service personnel in the area.  Since the new Hipaa act of 1996 was established, it is even more important that we use care in what is told to the media. The hipaa act prevents emergency responders from sharing personal information of patients and gives us the right to withhold information about patients.

Reading Summary #2: Legal and ethical issues

Bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland

Legal and Ethical Issues Related to Media Disaster Coverage

Randy Rask

Lesson 2 Reading Summary

Reference:

Andrews, Kate. (1989, Summer).  Legal and ethical issues related to media disaster coverage. Journalism Educator, Vol. 44, Issue 2, pp. 50-76.

Theme:

Focuses on why ethical coverage of disasters can be important.  This article refers to the specific disaster of Pan Am Flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988.  Explains why people think that media may be crossing the line and why media believes that ethical coverage is important.

Summary:

-On December 21, 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 was flying over Lockerbie, Scotland when the aircraft suddenly exploded. 

-Among those on board were 35 students.  25 of these students were on a study abroad trip in London and attended Syracuse University where journalist instructor Kate Andrews worked. 

-Kate Andrews heard the horrific news and was called to cover the story.  She had reported many horrific tragedies, but none hit as close to home as this.

- Students had a very difficult time dealing with the journalists and reporters because of their efforts in trying to cover their grief, pain, and emotions.

-Many students felt as if the journalists, including Kate Andrews, were crossing the line.

- Kate explains how she had to teach her students the importance of covering these emotions.  She states how pain has no boundaries and it can prove to be dangerous to shield people from viewing pain.  How can media decipher between what is to unethical to cover and what isn't?

-If critics are able to define what is "important" or which "truths" can be shown, then a free press will not last.  Who is allowed to decide what society is allowed to know?

Application to lesson topic:

This article can relate to the lesson topic because it talks about how the press is there to do a service to society.  Without press, citizens will not be able to get coverage of tragedies such as the crash of Pan Am Flight 103.  Although it may seem unethical to many people, to have the freedom of press, there cannot be critics defining what is or is not important for the media to cover. 

Application to Emergency Services:

Media and Emergency Services are both out there to serve the same purpose.  They are both there to serve the public.  This article explains how for the media to serve that purpose.  We as emergency responders need to try and be aware of that on emergency scenes.  We need to realize that they are not just there to be an annoyance and be in the way, but they are there to exercise their right to freedom of press and to inform citizens of these tragedies.  Some people may not agree with media, but who is to say what they are and are not allowed to cover.