Negative Effects of Photojournalism
Introduction
Photojournalism is a distinct form of journalism that employs the use of images to present a news story. This form of journalism encompasses the collection, edition and presentation of news items I form of images for broadcast or publication. There have been numerous debates concerning photojournalism and its effectiveness in the society. These debates have been of both sides with individuals arguing for and against photojournalism in the society. The arguments and debates are an essential element in the society today because it highlights all the important issues related to journalism, especially photojournalism, hence enhancing proper understanding of the subject. As such, photojournalism has a negative effect because it glorifies horrible events and the photojournalist in question does not intervene and help whoever is in danger.
History of Photojournalism
Photojournalists began documenting their news from as early as the 1850s with engravings being used to print the photos. Pictures taken by Carol Szathmani in 1853 of the Crimean War commenced the history of photojournalism with box cameras being significant tools to capture the pictures of the British soldiers while in the fields. There were developments in cameras with the increasing advancements in technologies with portable cameras being the new form of photojournalist reports. In the 1930s, the 35mm Leica was introduced, and it improved the capability of the photojournalist to take pictures constantly during events. As such, the result was the initial golden age of photojournalism that lasted until the 1950s.
Photojournalists such as Alfred Einstensteaed and Robert Capa excelled during this period of photojournalism. Magazines like the Sports Illustrated, Life and newspapers like the New York Daily developed their readerships on the usage of photography. In the 1970s, there was the introduction of Documentary photography in photojournalism. In the late 1970s, the photojournalists started receiving worldwide recognition in their galleries as their acknowledgment and appreciation grew in the realm of art.
In the 1980s, photojournalism began favoring the more of the existent artistic photos in storytelling with accompaniments in packaged designs, graphics and headlines. In the 1990s, many of the photojournalists started producing pictures and images in color with computers playing a significant role by enabling the photographers to scan their films.
In the world today, photojournalism is dependent on digital photography. Photojournalists today keep up with the latest equipment of cameras, techniques of photo editing and the prevalent skills of lighting because the digital SLRS is cheaper and faster. Moreover, photojournalists today incorporate video and audio while still doing their photography.
Discussion
Photojournalism has a negative effect on society because it condones the horrible events and does not allow the photojournalist in question to intervene or attempt to assist whoever is in danger. This aspect is what many individuals who are against photojournalism claim. This issue has had numerous debates in trying to understand the causative factors and effects of such acts.
In 1993, Kevin Carter, a South African photographer took an initiative to capture the aftermath of the civil war. In his endeavors to present the effects that the civil war had on the society, he took a picture of a starving, emaciated and malnourished child who on her way to a given feeding center had collapsed. In the background of the picture, there was vulture waiting for a child to die and feast on her. Carter admitted in many accounts that he had waited for more than 20 minutes for the bird to spread out its wings and begin feeding on the child in order for him to capture the perfect picture (Africa News 13). However, the bird did not and so he chased it away and sat under a tree with the pictures he had taken.
After taking a picture, he sat down under, a tree tormented with the events he had witnessed. The New York Times later published the pictures. Moreover, Carter was awarded a Pulitzer. Later on Carter committed suicide with a suicide note that his experience haunted him, and the images of the starving children of the war tormented him.
After being published by the New York Times, many individuals wrote back suggesting that Carter had done little to help the child. This element reiterates the claim that photojournalism denies the photojournalist the opportunity to assist whoever is in danger like in Carter’s case where he had simply waited for almost twenty minutes as the child as starving to just for him to have a perfect of a vulture spreading out its wings to start feeding on the child.
Counter Argument
Photojournalism is not always about capturing and presenting horrible accounts and events. Sometimes photojournalism is a tool in the society that seeks to provide the real happenings in society. Photojournalism presents factual evidence on the disasters that affect the society. The presentation of these factual evidences enables individuals and the entire society to act accordingly to annihilate these situations. For instance, in the 9/11 tragedy, there are some individuals who sought take their cameras and have pictures of the happenings (THOMAS 26).
Photographing is entirely an act of non-intervention. A section of the horrors that result from the coups of photojournalism originates from the awareness of the plausibility that in the situation where the photojournalist has a decision between life and the photograph, they choose the photograph. Photojournalism comes in where an individual who can intervene does not record and who records cannot intervene.
Photojournalism also assists the society to accept the reality of the happenings in the society and develop measures of annihilating the issues. That is, in the case of Carter, many people wrote back on how they could help the starving children after the New York Times published the photograph. Moreover, the incident helped many individuals across the world like in Kenya where the citizens responded gallantly to the matter. At the time of publishing an article by the New York Times, more than 250,000 Kenyans had donated more than 80 million shillings in a week to feed the starving people in their country.
Conclusion
Photojournalism is a form of journalism that incorporates pictures in the presentation of news items. There is a conception that photojournalism has a negative effect because it glorifies horrible events and the photojournalist in question does not intervene and help whoever is in danger. Some of the effect of photojournalism as presented in Carter’s case is trauma, which led to his suicide. That is; he did not help the starving child but instead watched and waited for the perfect picture.
Photojournalism also has some benefits in the society because it presents the critical issues that affect the society. As such, photojournalism enables the society to recognize pressing issues and develop ways of dealing with the issues. Therefore, people should critically look at the benefits and effects of photojournalism to argue for opinions.
Works Cited
Africa News. "Kenya; For Those Who Refused to Walk Away." The Nation [Nairobi] 6 Aug. 2011: n. pag. Print.
KIMMELMAN, MICHAEL. "When a Picture Is Worth a Thousand Debates." The New York Times [New York] 4 June 2009: C0. Print.
THOMAS, STUBBLEFIELD. "DOES THE DISASTER WANT TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED?: Reconsidering the Camera's Presence at Ground Zero." Afterimage 39.1/2 (2011): n. pag. Web.
