In 2012, I wrote the 57-page eBook "Photojournalism, Technology and Ethics" for Black Star Publishing.
This eBook explores many topics that are relevant today. And while it doesn't touch on newer ethical quandaries such as the proliferation of deep fakes, it provides a historical context that is valuable for gaining perspective on these trends.
A recent reviewer at Goodreads, Hákon Gunnarsson, wrote this description of the book:
This [eBook] about ethical questions that technology raises in regards to photojournalism is very interesting for anyone that has some interest in news, or at least news photography. I think all that Baradell talks about here still applies to this field in the post-truth era, some of it even more so. He doesn’t always give the reader straight answers, but like with certain ethical questions there are grey areas.
Here's an excerpt from the eBook:
There’s an old saying that there are no atheists in foxholes. When threatened or under fire, people inevitably cling to something certain to guide them through uncertain times. In life and death situations, this something is often a Bible. Today, the profession of photojournalism as we know it is threatened by technological transformation, by the rise of video, by fragmentation of the media. It’s under fire from a suspicious public—watchdog bloggers, cable and radio pundits, and other critics who question the profession’s credibility and authority to bring us an accurate picture of the world. For photojournalists, it would be a great time to have a Bible— in the form of a uniform, enforceable code of ethics—handy. Unfortunately, photojournalists have no such thing. There is no established set of rules to see news photographers through this storm.
Download "Photojournalism, Technology and Ethics."
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