Situation Definition: Doug Blackmon spoke at Penn State this week as part of the annual Foster-Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers. Blackmon spoke about his experiences as a journalist and some of the topics and events he has covered over his career.
Two ethical considerations stood out during Blackmon’s lecture. The first was when he spoke about being in Yugoslavia and reporting on the war. There are many ethical considerations that come along with reporting on war and violence. He touched on this especially when he was talking about photographing war crimes and also running into trouble with local governments. Another ethical consideration that relates to reporting on violence is the toll that reporting on violence takes on reporters, and the mental health support that is or is not offered to them when they experience symptoms of PTSD or other forms of trauma.
Analysis: According to the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin, groups like Reporters without Borders and the International Safety Institute provide information on the number of journalists that have been killed over the past year (Palmer, 2016). Research on these casualties are provided in hopes that they will raise awareness about the dangers that journalists face in the field and at home. These statistics, also provided by organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists are vital to the broader conversation on journalistic safety (Palmer, 2016).
The hardest part is that unseen wounds of bearing witness to violence are harder to track. It has become clear that psychological trauma is a major risk in news reporting. Because journalists cover things like car accidents, shootings, war, etc. they are potential victims of the emotional fallout that can range from minor symptoms or stress and anxiety to full-blown PTSD (Palmer, 2016). Blackmon talked about how after he witnessed some of the things in Yugoslavia he just burst into tears, but he had to keep going because he had a duty as a journalist. Obviously crying is a natural human emotion, but he did not have any time to process these events, and in the Q&A, he said that he and other war journalists were not offered any counseling services by their news outlet when they returned.
The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states in its preamble that “public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy” (SPJ, 2014). News organizations have a duty to support journalists’ mental health, because a reporters’ psychological well-being can directly impact their ability to remain ethical.
When reporting on violence journalists also have to be conscious about the situation that they are in and be respectful of the situations that their subjects are in. In the textbook “The Ethical Journalist: Making Responsible Decisions in the Digital Age”, the author talks about how the public “can be expected to react negatively to images depicting graphic violence, gore, dead bodies…” (Foreman, 2016, p. 358). Reporters have a duty to tell the truth and let the public know what is going on in wars, but they also have to know their audience and know what could be upsetting or unnecessary to share with the public.
Conclusion: When reporting on war and violence, it is important to keep both the mental health of the journalist in mind as well as the audience and the gravity of images and details that may be shared. War can be traumatizing for everyone involved and it is important to carefully examine these ethical considerations.
Foreman, G. (2016). The Ethical Journalist: Making Responsible Decisions in the Digital Age. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
Palmer, L. (2016, December 21). Duty of Care: Newsrooms Must Address Psychological Trauma. Retrieved from https://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/tag/war-reporting/
Smith, R., Newman, E., & Drevo, S. (2016, May 26). Covering Trauma: Impact on Journalists. Retrieved from http://dartcenter.org/content/covering-trauma-impact-on-journalists
SPJ. (2014, September 6). War Journalism Resources – Society of Professional Journalists. Retrieved from https://www.spj.org/ethicswartime.asp