Images of 9/11

There has been a lot of criticism of the images and stories that were displayed in newspapers, magazines and in the news following the attacks of 9/11. The images and stories were often graphic, showing people falling to their deaths, wounded victims and firsthand accounts of what people saw and experienced on that day. One reporter by the name of Richard Drew was covering a fashion show in downtown Manhattan when two planes slammed into the towers. As people jumped from the towers, his reporter instincts kicked in and he began to photograph them. It later turned out that some of the pictures he had taken were used in papers around the country as part of their coverage. A lot of outraged readers and viewers would call the media outlets displaying these pictures and complain about how graphic the images were, some showing people falling to their deaths (Patterson & Lee, 2010).

The big question is was it ethical to display such violent and graphic images and stories as part of news coverage of 9/11? Like most ethical dilemmas there is not just one correct answer. To help evaluate this ethical question I am going to use an ethical guideline issued by the Public Relations Society of America called The Member Code of Ethics. The Member Code of Ethics (MCE) is helpful in evaluating this ethical situation because its codes are geared towards things like honesty, fairness and safe guarding confidences to name a few. These principles are all topics that come up in this ethical dilemma.

One question that came up was should the photographer continued to photograph the jumper when he realized what was happening? It is clear that the reporter was doing his job by photographing the jumper and providing accurate truthful information. The MCE states that Protecting and advancing the free flow of accurate and truthful information is essential to serving the public interest and contributing to informed decision making in a democratic society (Publics Relations Society of America).  I do not think that the photographer’s intent was to show a man falling to his death but rather to show just how horrific 9/11 was. Part of a reporter’s job is to be loyal to the public. The MCE states that reporters must be faithful to those they represent, while honoring their obligation to serve the public interest (Publics Relations Society of America). I believe that it was in the public’s best interest to know how horrific the event was and this is why the photographed jumper was used as part of news reports.

One section of the PSRA that may be difficult to use in evaluating this ethical question is the part on safeguarding confidence which states client trust requires appropriate protection of confidential and private information (Publics Relations Society of America). Some people complained that the picture revealed too much and showed a man falling to his death. Although this is true, the man’s identity was never revealed and his face was not visible in the picture. So technically the journalist was abiding by the MCE code of safeguarding confidence but others believed too much was revealed.

In my media ethics class we talked about an ethical perspective called the Bok model. Bok states that maintaining social trust is a fundamental good. In my eyes Richard Drew abided by the MCE and in doing so he maintained a social trust to the public. Another ethical perspective that we discussed in the class is the social responsibility of the public’s relation profession. PR’s main duty is to give the public information that they need and this is what Richard Drew and the news outlets were doing. The public needed this information because it’s important for them to know how horrific and dangerous the attacks were. By knowing this, they can understand the need for greater protection, learn how to be alert to possible terrorist dangers and support new laws and regulations that were created to combat terrorism.

Works Cited

Patterson, P., & Lee, W. (2010). Media Ethics. New York: McGraw Hill.

Publics Relations Society of America. (n.d.). PSRA Code of Ethics. Retrieved january 19, 2012, from http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/CodeEnglish/