New York Post's Subway Death Photo: Was It Ethical Photojournalism?

[imnotasquirrel]

When a news photographer witnesses a tragedy in the making, is his obligation to intervene or to document it?

That question has cropped up anew following the New York Post’s publication, on its front page, of a photo taken moments after a man was pushed onto subway tracks, and moments before he was hit and killed by an oncoming train.

Comments

[danceprincess20]

According to a CNN producer on twitter, the photographer refused to talk to them without being paid. So it seems that unless/until some one pays him, we won't be hearing his side of the story.

[oceandezignz]

Wow. Really?

[luminescnece]

I wouldn't go on a network television show to answer questions about a traumatic event that people are acting like I could have prevented (or should have acted differently) not without a good reason to dredge all that up and go through the crazy. And money does count as a 'good reason' for some folks I guess.

[kitanabychoice]

Well, it seems he was certainly happy enough to sell that picture and and bring himself into the limelight with it. I really don't know how one would sell a photograph like that and not expect some kind of public reaction to come with it.

[lady_borg]

I find the headline grosser than the photographer not being able to help personally.

And I know a few photographers who always always have their camera lined up and ready for a photo. So while I cannot support the idea of him selling the photo to the papers and I can understand how in his mind the first reaction would be to take a photo.

[ms_maree]

I can understand how in his mind the first reaction would be to take a photo.

I dont' find that very farfetched either. I have a friend who is a serious hobby photographer (though he does make a little bit of money from it) who buys parts for his camera which is in the thousands. He's often got his camera ready when we're out and about, I can't count the number of times I've been on the train with him while he's got his camera out ready to point the camera if something interesting happens.

[lady_borg]

I know both hobby and pro togs and yeah, I see it all the time when I am with them. I heard one of them being able to take photos of a fight on the train for the police. Sure he could have stepped in but he would have been beaten himself and he figured the police might want a recollection of what happened. Turns out they did.

[kaelstra]

Yeah, that headline is just vile.

[grace_om]

Newspapers :-( Too many memories of a few years back when the local rag published a picture of the crushed car a friend of mine and her son died in -- on the front page. I hadn't even know her that long and I felt terrible seeing that and thinking about how her family and close friends must have felt. I hid it from my son, because I didn't want him to see it. And yet I would have kept the article if not for the picture, because it had a lot of nice things to say about her life.

Like someone upthread I feel bad for the train driver in this case, but even worse for the victim's loved ones.

[ragnor144]

Our local rag published a front page picture of a minor getting cut out of a horrible car wreck, obviously in a lot of pain. Many people complained, especially since he was a minor and the family did not give permission, but they cried that it was news. This is also a paper whose sports writer / political blogger's last entry was to praise Uganda's president for his act of religious theater and saying we'd all be better off if President Obama did this. Not a quality publication.

[spyral_path]

We don't know for sure if he could have helped the man or not, but we do know that he didn't even try. Using his flash as a warning? Come on.

[a_phoenixdragon]

Okay. Do not NEED that source imagery. At all. But if he was in a position to help that man and just stood there watching 'safely' through a lens? FUCK HIM.

Wow...I'm kind of ragey tonight.

Sorry.