Dr. Paul Martin Lester, Professor
Assignment 3: Photojournalism Ethics
Within the folder "Lester" on most of the hard drives in the Macintosh lab are two programs called "Ethics-A" and "Ethics-B". These are computer software simulations I developed for my book, Photojournalism An Ethical Approach. Each program contains five scenarios real photojournalists can face. The 10 situations were based on my own experiences and those from newspaper photographers I know. For this assignment you will complete all 10 situations and get a printout that records your choices.
The ten situations are:
… photographing a riot
Depending on your choices, each one of you will experiences a slightly different version of the 10 situations. I encourage you to go through the program as many times as you like.
It is best to go through all 10 situations at once. Allow at least 30 minutes to complete all 10. Double-click on "A" or "B". You will be asked some questions at first that determines your experience level. Once through this section, use the scroll bar to read about the ethical philosophies that determine actions. The program is self-explanatory. Click on a situation. Click on the bubble at the left of the photograph to get cutline and credit information. Be sure and scroll down to read all the text in the camera. Click on the arrows to navigate through the program. At the end of each scenario, you will be asked to rate your actions. Compare your responses with those from the general public and professional photojournalists. You will be given an ethical score for each situation. The higher you score, the more ethical you acted. Be sure and write any explanations or comments you have about each situation.
If you run out of time, make sure you at least complete 5 situations and get a printout. At a later date you can complete the other five. (You can't complete 3 situations, for example, and save where you stopped with this program).
NOTE: The printouts take a long time to come out of the printer. Be patient. Turn in all the pages.
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… dealing with an obnoxious actor
… shooting nude sunbathers
… covering an explosion in an oil refinery
… being offered a press junket
… manipulating subjects and photographs
… shooting a gruesome car wreck
… making an advertising photo
… covering a funeral, and
… speeding to an assignment