Case Study When news photographs are too gruesome to be published?The Atlantic - visual coverage of the Boston Marathon BombingRoxana Pop

I. Introduction This case study is a discussion about news editors decision of publishing gruesome photographs when breaking news happens. There are several questions asked by professional photojournalists: Do we help the readers by showing them violent photos such as amputated limbs and victims with severe injuries or would the readers be better off without seeing all the brutality of this unfortunate events? Also, is the act of showing this pictures an invasion of victims privacy or, on the contrary, we serve the victims, making a strong case for them, by showing to the public the reality of this tragedies? How literally should we be with our pictures? All this unanswered questions put a lot of pressure on the photo editors decision of choosing the photographs that best illustrate the event, without harming the victims dignity. How do we find the balance between our readers interest and the victims right to privacy? What can we do to protect the victims and the victims families?In addition to that, nowadays technology created the possibility for news publications to operate on different platforms. This is another decision to make, what goes in print editions and what stays online only?Using the act utilitarianism theory, I will try to answer to the questions enunciated above, talking only to one recent case, the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing and The Atlantic magazine decision of publishing the full photograph of a severely injured victim, a photograph that became the iconic image of the April 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing.

II. Case presentationThe Atlantic online edition published AP photographers Charles Krupa picture that shows Jeff Jr. Bauman, a victim of the bombing, severely injured carried away from the scene by Carlos Arredondo (in the cowboy hat) and medical responders.

Fig. 1. Medical responders and a bystander, Carlos Arredondo (in the cowboy hat), rush Bauman from the scene in what became a symbolic image of the Boston Marathon carnage. Charles Krupa/Associated Press

The Atlantic received complaints from the readers for publishing the photograph of the injured marathon observer, Jeff Jr. Bauman on its Web site. It is essential to know that most news organization published a crop version of the picture, and some publication used also a note before displaying the photo Warning: This image may contain graphic or objectionable content. Fig. 2 This is the cropped version of the photograph that most of the newspaper ran online. Some cropped the photo even tighter showing only Baumans and Arrendondos face.

Fifteen minutes after the publication, The Atlantic took the picture down, blurred Baumans face, and reposted the photo without any crop. However, they put black slide before displaying the picture that said: Warning: This image may contain graphic or objectionable content. Click to view the image. [footnoteRef:1] Also, in the photo caption there is another note that explains to the readers the editorial decision of obscuring Baumans face: Note: An earlier version of this gallery featured this photo with the graphic warning but without the image blurred. We have since decided to blur the subject's face out of respect for privacy. [1: Atlantics photo gallery, Picture 8 is the one that fired discussions. Link retrieved from The Atlantic web site on Sept. 22, 2013.http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/04/photos-of-the-boston-marathon-bombing/100495/]

Fig. 3 The final version of the photo run by The Atlantic.Furthermore, in a New York Times article, Bob Cohn, the digital editor for The Atlantic explained the reasoning behind his decision of blurring Baumans face but not cropping the photo: We thought it was such an honest and powerful representation of the tragic impact of the bombings.[footnoteRef:2] His argument was that he found the original version of the photograph more authentic that the cropped version. AP provided both versions to the media outlets. [2: Christine Haugney, (2013, 04, 17), News Media Weigh Use of Photos of Carnage, New York Time, retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/business/media/news-media-weigh-use-of-photos-of-carnage.html]

The Atlantic of the Boston Marathon Bombing photo stirred further discussions among photojournalists, as well among readers. In the same NYT article, Donald R. Winslow, editor of News Photographer Magazine, the monthly publication of the National Press Photographers Association, disapproves with Cohns, by saying that you either publish the photo as it is, either crop it or dont publish it at all, if the picture is too graphic. In addition, Winslow says The Atlantic attempt to protect Baumans privacy but making his face unidentifiable failed because at that time, other news outlets already published the cropped version of the exact photo, therefore the readers could easily still identify Baumans by looking at what other news organizations and social media published: Its closing the barn door after the horse is gone, () his face is everywhere, Winslow said.[footnoteRef:3] [3: Christine Haugney, (2013, 04, 17), News Media Weigh Use of Photos of Carnage, New York Time, retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/business/media/news-media-weigh-use-of-photos-of-carnage.html]

III. The ethical conflict of The Atlantic case from the Act Utilitarianism perspective In the first place, Kohns decision to publish the original photograph provided by AP, showing in detail the severe injuries that Jeff Jr. Bauman suffered, can be treated as a right decision, the news publication serves its readers by showing how bad the situation was and not hiding any truth from the readers. Kohns acted in the name of readers interest, as a real journalist informing the readers and fulfilling their desire of knowing the uncensored reality. According to Cohn, the whole bombing situation was so unexpected with severe damage that it shouldnt be masked by cropping the photos or by choosing less gruesome photos. Does this mean that Cohns decision meets the act utilitarianism criteria stated by the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham, the greatest good for the greatest number? There are several reasons why I consider that Kohns decision didnt benefit anybody, neither the victim, nor the readers. The readers complained about the first published version of the picture and its gruesomeness. Furthermore, some readers were offended by the second version of the photograph with Baumans blurred face. In a Facebook post, Melissa Golden, freelancer photographer criticized The Atlantics decision from a different angle. Number 8 in this gallery is horrifying, but Im very concerned with the In Focus decision to blur the face. Since when do legitimate print journalism outfits modify photos like this? Run it or dont, but dont enact a double standard forAmericans when were totally cool running unadulterated photos of bombing victims from foreign lands.[footnoteRef:4] Golden brings into discussion another ethical problem of the American media organizations, not having a problem with publishing gruesome photos of victims of war or other disasters, coming from other countries than U.S where the victim is identifiable, but having a problem to do the same with the domestic victims. She thinks that The Atlantics editors should either be accountable of their first decision or dont run the photo at all. [4: Allen Murabayashi, (2013, 04, 16), A Blurry Double Standard? A Photo from the Boston Marathon Bombing, PHOTOSHELTER blog, retrieved from http://blog.photoshelter.com/2013/04/a-blurry-double-standard-a-photo-from-the-boston-marathon-explosion/]

Furthermore, according to the note from the photo caption the editors decided to blur the Baumans face out of respect for the victims privacy, We have since decided to blur the subject's face out of respect for privacy. This this argument doesnt justify the his decision to run a blurred photo. As Winslow said, at that time, other newspapers published a cropped version of the photo, showing Baumans face. There was no mystery anymore about the subjects identity. Act utilitarianism theory emphasizes that a person acts in an ethical way when his act maximizes the happiness of the majority or minimizes the unhappiness the others. In this regard, there is another aspect of the story. Jeff Baumans stepsister found out that Bauman Jr. was injured from the cropped version of the photograph published by other newspapers.The elder Jeff Bauman was at work in Concord on Monday afternoon when he got a frantic call from his stepdaughter, Erika Schneider. His son had been hurt; she had seen it in a photo. () They prayed, they cried, they tried to believe that maybe Bauman was okay. He was sitting up in the picture, maybe that was a good sign, Csilla thought. She never saw the uncropped image that shows her stepsons leg in shreds. She never wants to see it. [footnoteRef:5] The family never wanted to see original photograph that shows Bauman with severed legs. [5: Kathleen Ronayne, (2013, 04, 17) Concord family aiding son, Jeff Bauman, pictured in iconic Boston Marathon photo, Concord Monitor retrieved from http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/5747100-95/concord-family-aiding-son-jeff-bauman-pictured-in-iconic-boston-marathon-photo]

IV. Alternatives to Cohns decisionIf I were the online editor of The Atlantic, I would have taken the full size original photo provided by AP and crop the photograph just high enough, so the readers can see Baumans shredded legs, but still understand that he was severely injured. Fig. 2 is the crop that New York Times ran. As an editor, I like this version better than the original because it is less violent and shocking, as well it does a better job of protecting victims privacy. As a reader, I would be satisfied with this version better because I can still learn how bad the situation was at the scene (the photo shows that Baumans lost his left leg, and he is holding his right one. Also, Baumans face expression says pain, and even Arredondos face expresses how dramatic and desperate was the situation. This is an action photo that shows people rushing to the medical center to get help. In addition to this, the photo is so reach in information, that tells me more than people got injured and people died. Even if I would be the family of the victim, seeing this solid man in a cowboy hat carrying my son together with the medical staff, I would feel better. The tragedy make people bond and to react in courageous ways. This is why I consider that publishing the uncropped photo doesnt add more information. On the contrary, it takes away from its message; it distracts the viewers eye with the graphic elements.In conclusion, I tend to believe there is more to this tragedy, and any other similar event, than showing the violence. This is why, I consider this case a very good example of what some journalists or readers could argue that Cohn decision-making was based on the utilitarianism principle, the greatest good for the greatest number, moreover that his goal was to inform the readers by showing the bigger picture. However, I argue the opposite, and think that in this case the bigger picture of Boston Marathon Bombing is actually the small one.

References:1. Atlantics photo gallery, Picture 8 is the one that fired discussions. Link retrieved from The Atlantic web site on Sept. 22, 2013.http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/04/photos-of-the-boston-marathon-bombing/100495/2. Christine Haugney, (2013, 04, 17), News Media Weigh Use of Photos of Carnage, New York Time, retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/business/media/news-media-weigh-use-of-photos-of-carnage.html3. Allen Murabayashi, (2013, 04, 16), A Blurry Double Standard? A Photo from the Boston Marathon Bombing, PHOTOSHELTER blog, retrieved from http://blog.photoshelter.com/2013/04/a-blurry-double-standard-a-photo-from-the-boston-marathon-explosion/

4. Kathleen Ronayne, (2013, 04, 17) Concord family aiding son, Jeff Bauman, pictured in iconic Boston Marathon photo, Concord Monitor retrieved from http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/5747100-95/concord-family-aiding-son-jeff-bauman-pictured-in-iconic-boston-marathon-photo

5. Lambeth, B. E, 1992, Committed journalism, An Ethic for the Profession