Blog 2: Photojournalism ethics – job before 

justice?
duncantolmiesautblog.wordpress.com/2022/03/20/blog-2-photojournalism-ethics-job-before-justice

March 20, 2022

This week, I was reminded of an image that completely shook my world. It was the photo of
Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old boy who in 2015 lay face down in the ocean on a Turkish
beach; isolated… helpless… and dead (Smith, 2015).

Three-year-old Alan Kurdi lies dead in the sand of a Turkish beach after the boat he was
fleeing Syria on as a refugee, capsised. Photo / Nilüfer Demir

I was horrified.

My eyes painfully stared at the lifeless body before me on the screen. The lecturer started to
explain the background; how Alan Kurdi was a refugee on a boat with his family, fleeing war-
torn Syria when their water vessel capsised and most onboard drowned (Smith, 2015). But I
did not hear a word. Something else was on my mind. In what sick world does someone
reach for their camera as their first instinct (Griggs, 2015) after seeing a dead toddler?

Those thoughts point to a broader conundrum faced by photojournalists globally. The idea of
job before justice. Should photojournalists seek justice first, by interfering with situations they
are reporting on, ensuring that the right thing is done in that particular moment (for example,
checking to see if a toddler is still alive)? Or should photojournalists focus on their job of
capturing the moment, so that light is shed on the issue seised?
 Photojournalist Kevin Carter captured this controversial photograph
depicting the scenes of the Sudan famine in 1993. Photo / Kevin
Carter

The role of the photojournalist is to act as a fly on the wall (Dickey, 2022). It is to be a
physical witness at events so that those who were not able to be there in person are able to
experience the feeling of what it was like at that moment. Journalists (and photojournalists)
have the privilege of igniting the first step in the destruction of evil, by exposing what is
malignant – not directly fixing it. If the journalist has done their job correctly, they will have
been able to elicit an emotional response from their audience that results in action – and
therefore real change at a systemic and generational level. One might say it could be better
to rephrase the above statement to: job before immediate justice.

Nilüfer Demir, the Turkish photojournalist who captured the death of Alan Kurdi in
2015. Photo / DHA
Multiple studies have been conducted into Nilüfer Demir’s photo of Alan Kurdi. One found
that the image was able to transform the unsettling parts of the refugee crisis, into something
relatable and understandable to the public (Proitz, 2018). Another study measured the social
impact the image had on the world (Slovic et al., 2017). Despite constant reporting of the
death toll over five years (Cole, 2017), it was Nilüfer Demir’s photo that caused global
attention and sympathy for the Syrian people (Slovic et al., 2017). In the months after the
image was published, record donations were made to charitable organisations in support of
Syria (Cole, 2017). The impact was massive – even New Zealand increased its refugee
quota by over 30 per cent just eight months after the photo was released (New Zealand
Parliament, 2020).

As a student journalist, it will be essential for me to use sound judgment and know that in
most situations, I should refrain from seeking justice for individual situations by interfering
during or after reporting. Sometimes it may be necessary for me to intervene if someone’s
life is clearly in danger, and I have the power to assist them in that moment, such as in Olivia
Carville’s story (Burgess, 2011). However, on most occasions, I will need to trust the process
of journalism and know that in doing my job correctly, justice has the potential to occur, not
just for that individual, but also for generations to come.

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