Ethics in the Media

Or, what are we becoming?

I can remember reading an interview with a newspaper photographer years ago. The person writing the article asked him about the best photo he thought he'd ever taken and the man replied that the best photo - the most prizeworthy - was one he didn't take.

He told the story of a grandfather who had accidentally killed his grandson by hitting him with a car. The photographer arrived at the house later to talk to the grandfather and get a picture. He was going to knock on the door when he saw the grandfather through the glass in the door. The grandfather was sitting at the kitchen table holding one of his grandson's shoes in his hands while he looked at it with utter despair.

The photographer left rather than intrude.

That would never happen these days.