Ethical and Practical Challenges in Photojournalism

Professional photojournalist-turned-scholar Yung Soo Kim unpacks the ethical and practical challenges that photojournalists – and photojournalism as an industry – must continually negotiate in their commitment to uphold and circulate reliable information. As the evolution and accessibility of digital technologies continue to skyrocket in the 21st century, both the authority and authenticity of photojournalism as a profession is called into question. How do we know that any image purporting to be news is real? And if so many of us now constantly have a supercomputer-powered camera at our fingertips, why should we invest in – or trust – trained photojournalists over everyday citizens? Kim posits that moral dilemmas and personal danger, such as the complicated tension between being a dispassionate observer and being a good Samaritan when witnessing tragedies and lives at stake, are an inevitable condition of photojournalistic work. The danger and destruction photojournalists knowingly face underscores not only the importance of documenting the true nature of war and disaster but also the necessity of employing trained professionals to navigate these scenarios both safely and ethically, rather than relying on untrained laypersons.