Situation Definition:
Allan Detrich was a photojournalist for The Toledo Blade when he was suspended for digitally altering a photo. His page one photograph showed The Bluffton University baseball team in the outfield kneeling, gathering, and praying over teammates they lost in a bus accident. They were kneeling in front of some outfield banners on the fence. There were many pictures taken that day including Allan’s. Yet, in all the other pictures there were legs behind the fence and banners. The blade editors investigated this and found that Detrich had removed the legs in the picture before it was sent to the newspaper.
The first ethical issue in this case was the digital manipulation of the photo. The second ethical issue was when Detrich was confronted by the editors about this. He first denied the manipulation and later claimed the manipulated photo was meant only for his own files, and he accidently sent that one in instead of original.
Analysis:
Because of Allan Detrich’s mistake, all of his work was removed because his work was now untrustworthy. He also lost his chance of winning the Pulitzer prize for a different piece. He also gave editors a reason to not trust his work so they investigated all of his past work and found many many digitally altered photos. Many journalists feel pressured to create good content and if they have the capability to make a photo perfect, it can be a temptation for them to alter it. But in the world of journalism it is very important for the content to be true all of the time because viewers and readers trust the content given to them and the news networks can lose their credibility. Detrich broke a very ethical principle in journalism and lost all of his credibility for it.
In the book Ethical Issues in Communication Professions, Drumwright writes, “One might interpret his actions as an attempt to maintain a high position in the journalistic hierarchy. A photographer who turns in weak photos is less likely to maintain a high degree of respect”. Photoshop can be used as a helpful tool but it can also be used very unethically.
Although the technology was there for Allan to use and he felt pressured to create quality work, does not mean he should have done it. Being an unethical journalist is very risky because if you mess up, you can blow your entire career. I think that Allan should have just kept the picture the way it was because it was such a small flaw in the picture. Allan was a very credible journalist and was even nominated for a Pulitzer prize, but blew his chances because all of his work was now deemed not credible and unethical.
Conclusion:
All of Detrich’s work, even the credible work, was crushed when he was caught altering his photos. All of his credibility was lost, he lost his job, his work, and his place in the running for the Pulitzer prize. I learned through this case that it is very important to keep ethics and truth at number one priority over having the best work. It does not matter how good your work is if it was unethical and fake. I think all journalists should learn from this mistake and I will be sure to take this important lesson into consideration throughout my career.
References:
Drumwright, Minette. (2014). Ethical issues in Communication Professions: New Agendas in Communication. [ Electronic Version]. Google Books. Pg.27. https://books.google.com/books?id=bWdtAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=allan+detrich+unethical&source=bl&ots=luzFxbUFCw&sig=xQWUFsZj7BNsT8dROYNQ0xCRwXo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9jcOO98HXAhWnxFQKHVqeAtYQ6AEIXzAJ#v=onepage&q=allan%20detrich%20unethical&f=false
The Associated Press. (2007, April 16). The Toledo Blade: Photographer Altered 79 images. Trib Live. http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_502943.html
Winslow, Donald (2007, April 9). Detrich Resigns Over Digitally Altered Page One Photo. NPPA. https://nppa.org/news/1707