CSOM – Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should

When I was in journalism school, I took a class on ethical communications. I was maybe 19 years old at the time, pretty sure I didn’t really even know what ethical meant. Our professor would show us two photos and ask us which one we thought should be used with a particular story. One would be very graphic, maybe showing a sick child or an accident scene. The other was less dramatic, maybe a long-view where the details weren’t as obvious. We would then have a lively discussion about which photo we would use.  And why did we think so.  It was interesting to see where each of us landed.

Similar discussions are taking place in newsrooms across the country as editors are grappling with vivid photos from protests, arson fires at synagogues, and other equally disturbing and hard-to-look at imagery.  It’s important to use photos and other images to help tell your story.  The paper has the right to do so.  But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Adrian and I were going to talk about some other topics on this episode of Copper State of Mind, but decided with these discussions front and center, we’d dive in a little bit more.

Take a listen.

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