The Ethical Exploitation of Reality

Introduction

Ethical questions are thought experiments which have the potential to change how people relate with reality. However, this power only comes when people act on what they believe is moral and ethical. The root causes for many problems in American and global culture is the valuation of money above all else-human life, health of the environment, etc. When the root cause is not acknowledged or addressed in an ethical experiment with action people are simply playing around with feelings that have little bearing on reality. In the case of using exploitive photography of doom and death to sell newspapers this deviance is one of the many symptoms of greed eroding the ethical core of the nation.

What Sells

The ethical question of this blog centers around the question if it is wrong for a newspaper to publish a front page image of a man about to die. In the case in point the tabloid newspaper the New York Post published a front page story of a man who had been pushed in front of an oncoming subway train and was about to be crushed. The story was entirely sensationalist, and featured the tagline “DOOMED”. People reacted to this story as calling it insensitive and sensationalist (Petrecca and Eversley). 

The immediate question which came to the mind of many in this context is why the photographer not tried to help the DOOMED man rather than take a photo that would make them money. The freelance photographer, R. Umer Abbasi was on scene when this occurred, and it has been shared:

In its story on the incident Tuesday, the Post reported Abbasi was waiting on the platform when he saw the man fall onto the tracks. He said he ran towards the oncoming train, firing his camera's flash to warn the driver. ‘I just started running, running, hoping that the driver could see my flash," the newspaper quoted him as saying. ‘In that moment, I just wanted to warn the train -- to try and save a life.’ (Pearson) 

Apparently, this action was secondary to taking the photo, and therein lies the ethical quandary. Abbasi said “It all happened so fast” (Gonchar and Schulten). However, it was not too fast for his top priorities to be revealed, and in the heat of the moment his first thought was of money, and not of giving aid. Also to take into account is that there were likely many other people nearby, and no one tried to help pull the man back from the tracks. This is a common story of human disinterest, and the question of the ethics of reporting such incidents cannot be done outside of the context of the culture which thrives on such sensationalism. After all, the reason the newspaper published this story and many like it is that horror and shock sells newspapers. One observer’s opinion sums up the context of journalists, 

‘Even if you accept that that photographer and other bystanders did everything they could to try to save the man, it's a separate question of what the Post should have done with that photo,’ Jeff Sonderman, a fellow at journalism think tank the Poynter Institute, wrote on the organization's website. ‘All journalists we've seen talking about it online concluded the Post was wrong to use the photo, especially on its front page.’ (Pearson)

However such opinions are these from journalists are easily given after the fact and outside of the context of what the journalists would have done if they were there. It is likely that if questioned many of these same journalists would admit to doing similar things as Abbasi because it is there job and their livelihood to capture such images for money. Used to such double speak the newspaper declined to comment on its actions, for it does not see itself as a safeguard of ethics, but simply as a means of making money. As The New York Times emphasizes, “the decision to put the image on The Post’s cover and frame it with a lurid headline…That part didn’t happen quickly. The treatment of the photo was driven by a moral and commercial calculus that was sickening to behold” (Gonchar and Schulten). This calculus is the same moral equations which determine if a manufacturing defect is not potentially lethal enough to cost more in lawsuits than the cost of a recall of faulty parts. In a culture who values money above human life, environmental health, and all else such an ethical question has little worth. 

After all, the question of journalist ethics is really answered by action rather than thought or speech as is the case with any question. While there are those who say or write one thing, action reveals the true nature of the heart. According to the photographer, the newspaper, and all the people who bought the paper putting the photo of a man about to die on the front page is fine behavior. One of the main problems with any ethical question even when duplicity is left out is the fact that each person’s ethical/moral framework is different. When considering what is ethical for a person context is highly important, and when attempting to do this for a culture the problem grows exponentially. 

When attempting to gauge ethical questions throughout time public opinion can be a useful tool, but when many people will not back up their opinions with action it can be largely pointless. For instance, 7 in 10 Americans admit that people’s values have been getting worse in America, as shown by the poll below:

(Figure omitted for preview. Available via download).

Added to this perceived decline is also the soul crushing weight of the loss of hope, as over 50% of Americans believe that the loss of ethics, morality, and values is unlikely to improve:

(Figure omitted for preview. Available via download).

While there is much that accounts for this lack of faith, it must be predominantly from Americans observing how they do not act in accordance with their values. Whether or not this reality is observed consciously or projected onto others it is known. In ethics debates and learning the “Front Page” test is used to ask, “How would I feel if the course of action I am considering were reported on the front page of the local newspaper or blog?” (Institute for Local Government). While this may be an interesting thought experiment, it is not really ethics or morality under discussion, but simple social conditioning and fear of punishment. The ethical perspective would be content with one’s own face in the mirror as the judge, jury, and executioner for each act. 

It is easy to say something is wrong without taking personal responsibility for how you support the culture which views it as profitable and therefore right. For instance, a good example of this ethical quandary of thought vs. action is the case of the British Petroleum (BP) in the light of the horrendous oil spill. Prior to the Gulf spill, BP had accounted for 95% of all safety violations in oil processing, and therefore the “accident” was actually criminal negligence (Mouawad). This information is readily available. The ethical question here is if an individual says they do not support BP because of their negligence which cost loss of life, property, and environmental health to be ethical they must not purchase gas from BP. 

This means going out of their way to avoid the company, and supporting it in anyway. Bottom line, most Americans may say they have a moral position on the oil spill and the environment, but do not do the biggest thing in their power to hold those who are unethical accountable. Therefore, supporting BP is supporting their unethical behavior, and sending a message to other companies that they also will not be held accountable to public and environmental health. This duplicity is the result of many delusional aspects of culture which empower the unjust and undermine those who even have a conception of justice. It is a nice feeling to say one thing, but maybe not so nice a feeling to do something, and so the majority of Americans feel little hope for the ethical future.

People who commented on the front page image of the man about to die may have felt some type of emotional release by doing so, but only in their actions is any moral response possible. Contrary to popular Internet opinion words are not actions. Some commented:

• "That's some really, really bad journalism @nypost. When you pair that photo with text on the cover it's incredibly insensitive. Shameful," said Tim Bowman (@tibowman).

• "Disgusting! Whatever happened to integrity? Or just basic morals?" said Natasha Henry ‏(@NatashaSHenry). (Petercca and Eversley)

• "Snuff porn," another user labeled it.

• "NY Post should be ashamed of its misuse of humanity for its cover photo of a man about to be killed by a subway train," one person wrote on Twitter. "When does cruelty end." (Pearson)

The cruelty will have a chance of ending when culture no longer feeds off of cruelty and sensationalism as an escape from the meaningless pursuit of money, and when individuals demand justice with how they spend their dollar (Berocovici). 

Conclusion

There are so many examples that could be used to point out the power of context in any one singular example of ethical quandary. However, so often context is entirely forgotten in the discussion, pulling the question into a highly polarized yes or no context which is simply too easy for the veracity of truth to flourish. Where can an ethical foundation be found in a culture which pays court and hears only the voice of money?

Notes 

1: Chart Retrieved from: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/06/21-charts-that-explain-american-values-today/258990/

2: Chart Retrieved from: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/06/21-charts-that-explain-american-values-today/258990/

Works Cited

Berocovici, Jeff. “New York Post's Subway Death Photo: Was It Ethical Photojournalism?” Forbes, 4 Dec. 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2012/12/04/new-york-posts-subway-death-photo-was-it-ethical/#3cfac7a41a6d

Gonchar, Michael, and Katherine Schulten. “Is it Wrong for a Newspaper to Publish a Front-Page Photo of a Man About to Die?” The New York Times, 6 Dec. 2012. Retrieved from: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/is-it-wrong-for-a-newspaper-to-publish-a-front-page-photo-of-a-man-about-to-die/?_r=0

Institute for Local Government. “The ‘Front Page’ Test: An Easy Ethics Standard.” Ca-lig.org, 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.ca-ilg.org/post/front-page-test-easy-ethics-standard

Mouawad, Jad. “For BP, a History of Spills and Safety Lapses.” The New York Times, 8 May 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/business/09bp.html

Pearson, Michael. “Newspaper takes heat over haunting subway photo.” CNN, 6 Dec. 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/04/us/new-york-subway-death/

Petrecca, Laura, and Melanie Eversley. “Should NY Post have printed photo of man about to die?” USA Today, 4 Dec. 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/04/nyc-subway-death-push/1744875/