In this time of farewells and execution, media leaders have pressing decisions to make.
Editors and producers across the globe grapple with how to blend the deaths of Saddam Hussein, James Brown and Gerald Ford in the same presentational scope. I hope that dignity will be on the top of their minds.
Given the events of the most recent 24-hour-news cycle, there certainly is no shortage of authentic visual content for the next immediate Web posting, broadcast update or print centerpiece.
The execution of the deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is now a segment in history, and the images of death are an option for all to consider.
In Washington this weekend, public viewing ceremonies were underway in the Capitol Rotunda for former President Ford.
Brown’s body lay in an open-topped coffin Saturday for his funeral at the James Brown Arena. That followed a private funeral and viewing on Friday at The Apollo Theater in New York.
All three of these high-profile news scenarios require editors and producers to put dignity, taste and compassion at the top of their justification list.
For 16 hours, I exchanged Poynter on-call e-mail queries and monitored the photomanagers listserv (a Poynter service to some 75 visual leaders across the country).
Ricardo Ferro, the former director of photography for EFE news services, now based in Bogotá, Columbia, responded to a photo-managers query that posed this question: “If the hanging images [of Saddam] are made available, would you publish them?”
Ferro is a veteran and legendary photojournalist and picture editor who will retire tomorrow. His response: “Would you run Mussolini hanging, or Christ at the cross? Of course I would — the question is where and how big.”
Displaying Death with Dignity:
- Use an alternative picture. Simply selecting another picture should be at the top of your list of options.
- Consider cropping. It is an age-old and accepted practice. This is very much like paraphrasing or adding an ellipsis in a sentence.
- Use a sequence of photographs to offer visual context by ways of reporting and illustrating the series of events in chronological order.
- Placement and size are major considerations. Must the picture be displayed on your cover? Should it be published in black and white and not color?
- Selective toning and desaturation are options. You can adjust the color and contrast in an isolated area.
- Blurring, black bars, and text can be placed in a selective manner. Distortion of the picture is another choice. That is, you can subtract and/or add editorial content within the frame of the photographic composition.
- Offer disclosure by including written context to inform the viewer and reader about what they are seeing. Captions, photo credits, content labels, sidebar stories and editor’s notes are great vehicles for sharing information and building understanding.
How is “taste” defined? A dictionary definition might describe it as a form, style, or manner showing propriety. Newsrooms use less abstract tests, such as:
- How would a person react to this image over a bowl of Cheerios or a glass of orange juice?
- Does the photo show dead bodies?
- Does the photo show blood?
- Does the photo show people naked?
One quick item that will assist in your deliberations and discussion: I encourage the use of the term “disclosure” and not “disclaimer.”
To disclose is an act of transparency while accepting responsibility by way of offering insights, context and perspective. A disclaimer is an effort of denial or disavowal of legal claim.
One thing I have found true in this journalism business is that the preservation of dignity rarely requires disclosure, and never needs a disclaimer.
