Thinking Ethics

What will the newsroom look like in the future? My assessment: The newsroom will be smaller and less cohesive. Stories will be written from living room Lazy-Z-Boy chairs rather than loud, hectic newsrooms. But journalists should never forget our commitment to truth and verification, meaning we can write at home, but do our interviews and photo assignments at the actual events, using real sources. A staff law/ethical policy keeping ethical behavior in check is more important than ever now. 

It's been two months since I've blogged about anything, but not because I didn't have anything to say. I just didn't have the time to say it right. 

I've spent the past four months in my grad class learning about journalism ethics. It's a topic that is so misunderstood and underrated. I believe being ethical and knowing what that means is vital to the future of journalism. If you don't trust your news source, then who can you trust? 

Lesson # 1: The difference between bloggers and journalists is this...I don't have to blog if I don't feel like it, but a news source doesn't have that option. A reliable news source has to continually collect the facts and get them right. And if they don't get them right, then they need to admit it. That's being ethical.

The battery and the pink purse

This photo of a TV camera battery sitting on a roster next to a woman's pink purse struck me as humorous. It was at a girl's soccer game last night and I couldn't help but document the oddity of it. The owner of the purse was a reporter/photographer for Channel 11.

You see, not long ago, a woman photojournalist working on the sidelines of a sporting event was a rarity. Covering the sporting world has traditionally been a man's job. For most football, basketball, hockey, baseball games, etc., I'm still pretty much the only woman shooter there. 

I love shooting sports, being a former athlete myself, so I am often struck with the feeling that I'm lucky. I wonder if men feel the same way. Do they feel fortunate to be there, or entitled? 

I'm noticing a gradual shift in the ratio of men and women sports shooters, however. At the OSU/UT game, there were actually about 2 or 3 of us - total. Men still dominate, but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day. It's going to take women wanting and/or demanding to be there, on the field, with their male peers.

Let me share a true story that happened to me. 

When I was an intern at the Warren Tribune, I worked Sundays. An LPGA was in town one weekend, and my boss actually took me off the schedule and sent the male intern in my place. The pathetic part - he hated sports. The full-time photogs told me to go shoot it anyway, so I did. I took my own film camera with a 300mm lens (which I hand carried because I didn't own a monopod at the time), and shot the entire day. 

Know what happened? I went back to the Tribune, processed my film with the intern, and he admitted I had the better shot of the winner reacting to making her final putt. He graciously suggested I turn it in. So I did, and it ran huge on the front page. 

My pay for that day = $0.00.  My boss realizing women can shoot sports = priceless!

Jeremy the Platypus

(Photo of Jeremy Wadsworth by Dave Zapotosky)

         Blade photogs have finally turned into bonafide platypuses! 

We've been shooting video stories for our website, toledoblade.com, for a year now. All of us are equipped with Canon FS100 camcorders, the camera Jeremy is shooting with in this photo. They do the trick for a website, but I wouldn't use them for making a movie that would be blown up on a large screen. The photo department also has two Sony video cameras. We edit audio and video ourselves, using Final Cut Pro (a mac editing software). 

         The term platypus originated years ago by forward thinking photographers who knew news photogs would be delving into the world of moving images and natural sound. 

Blade photographers eased into the platypus role several years ago by first shooting Soundslides projects. Soundslides is a slideshow software that marries audio with still photos. If an assignment has video/audio potential, we video shoot it for the web. Needless to say, we can be pretty weighed down with camera equipment - doing way more for less. 

         There are times when a photographer just can't do both, though. If we're at an event that happens only once, meaning it can't be repeated, then it's better to have a still shooter as well as someone capturing audio and shooting video. Our ethical code doesn't allow us to re-shoot or set something up. That's what Jeremy's doing here, while Dave is shooting the stills. 

These multimedia skills are essential for photojournalists to find jobs these days. So get on the bandwagon!

         

To run or not to run?

David Poller started a discussion on the Wired Journalists website in regards to the New York Times running a photo of a Marine getting shot and killed in Afghanistan.  

To see the photo in question, my comment and to comment yourself, go to:

http://www.wiredjournalists.com/group/newtophotography/forum/topic/show?id=1976249%3ATopic%3A81800

What are your ethical concerns? I'd really like to know. 

Shooting the game

It's fall, meaning football season is upon us! 

These are a few photos from the Perrysburg v. Clay high school football game I shot Friday night. 

Check out more photos from the game in a photo gallery posted on the Toledo Blade website:  http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=TO&Date=20090905&Category=SPORTS12&ArtNo=905009997&Ref=PH

Another life claimed by silence

Three young children became motherless this weekend. 

Their mother, only 29 years old, died Saturday morning in a fire that destroyed the East Manhattan Ave. home. It was reported in the Toledo Blade that Misty McClung's death was accidental. However, it might have been preventable.

According to the article, the home did not have a working smoke detector. Were there detectors at all? If so, were the batteries dead or missing? I posted an earlier blog about this very subject June 22. The odds of surviving a house fire when there are no working smoke detectors is tragically low. 

Those poor children are now homeless and motherless. Misty didn't have a chance against the smoke because it first puts you into a deeper sleep, then suffocates you. It's the smoke that kills sleeping occupants, not the fire. 

I've covered enough fires to make me extremely paranoid. I want you to be paranoid, too, especially if you have children, pets, roommates, whatever. Please check your house or apartment for working smoke detectors. Read my earlier blog for more fire safety tips.  

If you don't have smoke detectors, buy a couple. They're cheap compared to your life. 

Processing film the old fashioned way

Black and white film. Unfortunately, it's a dying art form in our digital society, but not at Owens! More than 100 students are shooting, processing and printing black and white film this semester, proving the demand is still high. 

My 14 students processed their 1st roll of film Monday, and it was thrilling to see the excitement in their eyes when they witnessed the magic of Sprint, stop bath and fixer chemicals. 

B&W 1 is my favorite class to teach because students are taught to think and see for themselves. Therefore, shooting manually is a requirement. There's no better way than to learn ISOs, shutter speeds and f-stops. They learn to depend on their camera meters, rather than the back of their digital camera screens.

Next week: evaluating light. 

(Photos: Students processing their first roll of film in the Owens darkroom.)

Welcome Home!

Hello my sisters (and brothers)! 

Yes, I'm recovering from culture shock. I'm not the only one, though. About 3,000 other womyn are suffering a similar fate of adjusting to societal normalcy again. If you've ever been to The Land at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival in Hart, Mich., then you know what I'm talking about. 

Here are some of the numbers: 34 years in existence. 7 days long. 650-acre wooded land, owned by Lisa Vogel, who started the fest when she was 19. 3,000 womyn and children. Dozens of musical and comedic performers. 3 stages. Countless memories. Mich Fest = priceless. 

Mich Fest happens every August. Womyn from all over the world arrive to the Land to enjoy live music, freedom and each other. Upon arrival,  we're greeted at the entrance gate with "Welcome Home!" Tents and RVs are temporary living quarters. Free vegetarian meals are served 3 times a day. Every womyn is expected to work 2 4-hour work shifts to keep the fest going. This year I worked garbage and recycling. Other duties to choose from include childcare, kitchen, traffic, medical tent, stage set-up, etc. In other words, it's very organized.

The biggest draw, of course, is live music. 

Once you're on the land, you're free to dress or undress however you like. There's a sign at the exit gate that reminds you to put your clothes back on when you leave. And so the culture shock begins... 

Goodbye, Mich Fest. See you next year!

Photos and Perverts

The other day a neighbor came to my house to solicit a signature for another neighbor who was running for the Toledo School Board. After a brief conversation, she realized who I was and exclaimed, "Oh, you're the photographer who put my daughter in the Blade!"

She then went on to explain how that photo of her teen daughter soaking up the sun in her backyard had gotten the attention of a prisoner in jail. He had seen the girl's picture, looked up her last name and street in the phone book and called her at home. Fortunately, the mother answered the phone both times, preventing her daughter from speaking or even knowing about this undesireable stranger. I don't blame the mom for being annoyed and frightened with that photo, because it prompted a man to call her daughter from prison! 

The photo, taken years ago, was innocent enough: She was sunbathing in her bathing suit and, because it was hot, and I mean HOT, she had brought out a typical household fan to keep her cool. I happened to drive by and saw this. In my defense, I don't think a single photographer seeking features for a paper would pass that up. I also admit I'm a bit naive when it comes to the mind of perverts. It never entered my mind that this young girl could be harassed by prisoners or stalked by predators.

To make a long story short, my fortune of finding an interesting feature turned into someone else's perverted fantasy. 

The pictures photojournalists take for newspapers wind up in all kinds of places: refrigerator doors, scrap books, wall frames, and in the hands of prisoners. It was just an eye-opener for me. Should we include street names with these kinds of feature photos? Maybe not. 

Yes, we are responsible for filling news pages.  But are we responsible to our subjects  once our photos are published? I don't think so. We just need to be mindful of who we're putting in the paper, and who our readers are...

The international language of winning and losing

The Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic at Highland Meadows has come and gone, but the thrill of it still lingers. 

I posted a Facebook message before the final round last weekend wondering what the odds were that a South Korean would win the Farr: 3 to 1. I would have taken that bet, considering Se Ri Pak alone won 5 times! This year Eugjung Yi, 21, will have her own street in Sylvania. Not bad, since she's only been competing in the LPGA for two years. That's incredible, considering South Korea is the size of Indiana. 

The huge Morgan Pressel crowd was disappointed, of course. And so was Paula Creamer, the defending champion who had to pull out due to a thumb injury. But the competition was exciting, no matter who won. Quick recap: Yi takes big early lead Round 3, and keeps that lead until the last few holes. Pressel caught up with her on Hole 17 and forced a replay on Hole 18. 

This kind of drama is exactly why I like shooting sports. Yi desperately wanted that ball to go into the hole, and I needed to capture her reaction when it did, or didn't.  That's what sports photography is all about.  The photos say it all: Yi's ball did plop into the hole, and Pressel's didn't.

Let's hope we have a tournament to talk about next year...

The Art of Storytelling

Storytelling. It's not a new concept. In fact, storytelling is one of the reasons photojournalism was born; back in the late 1800s when photos began to appear in newspapers because editors realized photos sold papers.

 Henry R. Luce’s Life Magazine was one of the first national publications that used large photos to tell stories. It was first published in 1936.

I remember sifting through those huge pages and thinking how great it would be to be published in Life. I came close once. I shot a story for the Associated Press on Mexican farm workers who would take their children to the fields with them. I spent days in the Northwest Ohio fields documenting babies and toddlers confined in playpens surrounded by wheat and corn. The story went national, but in newspapers, not Life.

Remember when you first learned Life was going to stop the presses? Sadly, it was just the beginning of the continuing steady demise of magazines and newspapers.

After relentlessly documenting the job losses of other people, like autoworkers and mortgage brokers, we are now tragically covering ourselves. I use the word tragically, because photojournalists are the eyes of the world. Our world needs photos to continue documenting job losses, discrimination, health crisis, war, poverty and political corruption.

It’s our job to bring these atrocities to light, because the average citizen doesn’t have the power or the stage to do it. How would we know about hunger in Ethiopia or the existence of the KKK without photos to prove these things exist?

Storytelling can be done with just one photo (think firefighter carrying the baby during the Oklahoma bombing) or a whole series of photos. These captured stories can be printed in newspapers/magazines or on-line. Either way, it’s an art form that should absolutely never die.

In another posting, I'll highlight a few schools and organizations that are raising the bar on the art of storytelling.

 

 

 

Warning: Protect Thyselves

I covered a fire safety meeting tonight for the Blade. I actually couldn't wait to attend because I'm a freak about fire safety, and seat belt safety, and water safety, stranger danger, etc. I'm convinced that anyone who does this job for a long time eventually suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. 

Photojournalists are up close and personal to so many disasters that we understand trauma and accidents can happen to anyone, anytime. I fear because I drive my children crazy with my hovering when they're riding bikes, swimming or playing on the jungle gym, they won't take me seriously when the danger is quite high, like when we walked the rim of the Grand Canyon last month. I was a maniac. "Watch your step!" "Don't walk too fast!" "Stay close to the left side!" I even got tired of hearing myself.

Despite my paranoia, I wouldn't change a thing, because I need to be able to sleep at night, knowing I did my best to protect them as much as you can prevent accidents, and that multiple smoke alarms strategically placed throughout my house are functional.

So I say this with motherly intuition: Make sure you have smoke alarms with fresh batteries in every bedroom and hallway; at least one fire ladder on the 2nd floor; and an escape plan that's well rehearsed. 

And please, take me seriously just this one time.

Unplugged...

   Welcome to summer. An Air France plane crashes. A Monroe, Mich. 5-year-old girl is missing. Prop 8 in California continues. And my RV mechanic bill is $1,000. There's never a shortage of news (okay, my RV isn't news but the price tag is still shocking!) 

   I took a break from the news business last week, when I went to Arizona on vacation. My cell died the 1st day and I didn't recharge it. I didn't take my computer, either. I rarely read or watched the news. And my pair of Canon Mark II cameras were left at home. But you know what? News continued without me, and it always will. 

(Photo by my daughter, Quinn)    

                       

Sad update on the missing girl: Nevaeh Buchanan was found murdered, cased in cement on the bank of the River Raisin in Monroe, Mich. The suspect is still at large. 

The Platypus Concept

For the first time ever, I read an entire story about a television photojournalist in my National News Photographer Assoc. (NPPA) magazine.  

I usually just scan over the stories involving video shooters because, well, I'm a still shooter; I only want to soak up the information I deem beneficial to me. But that philosophy doesn't apply anymore. 

Newspaper photojournalists these days are now shooting and editing video for the web, as well as continuing to lug around our bulky Canon Mark IIs on each shoulder. Not only are we shooting digital stills and capturing video, we're also recording audio using wireless mics and digital voice recorders. So now we're broadcasters, too. 

You couldn't have convinced me five years ago we'd be multi-tasking this much. At first, I was hesitant to grasp the platypus concept, but I have to admit: I like it. It wasn't long ago I was excited to be shooting with a digital camera and transmitting from my car via a lap top. Now, we Blade photogs can add skills in Soundslides, Audacity and Final Cut Pro to our resume.

Learning how to shoot video and capture audio has been a challenge for an old newshound like me, but I've accepted that challenge for two reasons: 1) I don't want to get left behind, and 2) I teach Intro to Photojournalism at Owens Community College and am tasked to prepare the next generation to take my place.  

The following video is an example of what I'm talking about. It's a recent story about the fear of rising crime in Toledo due to fewer police officers on the street.  I shot it with a Canon FS100 (yes, tv photogs make fun of our baby video cam) and produced it for the Blade website. 

Happy Mother's Day

This video is dedicated to my mom, Linda. 

I shot the video, recorded the audio and 

produced the movie this past week. 

I hope she likes it.

About lives lost and job losses

This post goes out to friends of mine who are dealing with not only job loss, but a mobilization to Iraq. Beck is one of the 75 unemployed officers being forced to hang up their uniforms and badges due to the economy. On top of that, her friend, also a police officer, is being deployed overseas for 400 days. The kids will be in turmoil for a long time, and I feel so bad for them. 

Despite their on-going strife, they still attended the Toledo Police Memorial Ceremony today to honor fellow officers killed in the line of duty. 

They didn't let their own despair overshadow the meaning of today's memorial. Maybe they were even feeling fortunate to be able to still attend such a somber, yet necessary event.  At any rate,  I hope Beck can remember the good times when the bad times seem to dominate. 

   Beck is on the right in this photo.

Photo Drop Outs

     I posted the grades for my Black and White 1 PHO class the other day. Out of 11 registered students, I only had to give grades to 4, because the others quit coming to class early in the semester. Needless to say, I handed out 7 Fs. 

     I don't understand the mentality of students who sign up for class, pay the tuition, but not show up. I get that quite a few students at a community college sign up for a basic photography class thinking they're going to have "fun." It takes about 3 weeks into the semester for most of the dropouts to realize it's more work and math than they bargained for. The B&W classes at Owens are not about simply learning how to set cameras on auto and point and shoot. Students learn the fundamentals of photography; shutter speed, aperture, ISO, reciprocity, composition, lighting, etc. And they get to process and print in a traditional darkroom. How cool is that?

     In today's economy, students should be making the most out of their college experience. If they don't want to complete the class, why don't they drop out and save their money and GPA? It's a competitive world out there, and Fs don't look good to employers. 

     In the end, giving grades to four out of 11 students was easy workflow, but hard for me to understand.

Scanner Disconnect

“Sorry, we can’t give you that information…”

May 3rd, 2009 at 2:27 am by Barrett Andrews under News

When we hear garbled information on the scanner and don’t know exactly what might be going on where, we used to have a number to call for Toledo Police and Toledo Fire.

We would get information like the nature of the call (a shooting or pedestrian struck, for example), the cross-street (we may hear “Lagrange” but not hear “Austin Street”), or if it’s actually newsworthy (depending on if crews were canceled en route or if a detective’s on the way).

Not today.

We heard the code for dead body, a report that “children heard fighting,” and a fire crew asking dispatch to “keep police coming.”

Was it all the same call? We don’t know. When we called the number that connects us to the non-emergency number, we were told neither TPD nor TFD could release information to us anymore.

When I asked the supervisor why, she explained that it was because of layoffs and subsequent reassignments. I called the mayor’s spokesperson, who called Toledo police chief Mike Navarre, who, in turn, called me.

“That is a service we can no longer provide,” he told me.

So what’s my beef? This is a pretty minor change, all things considered, right?

Not in my eyes.

The dispatchers weren’t told to hang up on us if they were too busy to talk (which is what other jurisdictions do); I would understand that. They were told not to release information. Any information. Nothing gets to the media.

The problem is, we cannot legally broadcast scanner reports – and, ethically, it’s dangerous because we can’t always guarantee we heard the details right or we’re only listening to one call.

So we used to call those numbers to confirm, say, a shooter is on the loose or a road is closed – information we immediately pass along to you for your safety. As of today, we can’t get those sort of details confirmed in a reasonable amount of time.

In addition to that, these same dispatchers are the ones who are told to call us in the event cops need help finding a missing person or want other information broadcast. Will they still be able to take the time to call us with information the department wants released? I have a feeling they will.

The fact that a 30 second phone call has become too much of a burden for the Toledo police and fire communications bureau creates two worries in my mind: either this is going to be quite a dangerous situation for the entire city, or they think this is a great reason to keep the media out of the loop.

Either way, it’s putting your safety at an even greater risk.

The Unemployed

   Thousands showed up to a job fair hosted by The Blade and WTOL today. They stood in line for hours, and I felt almost guilty flaunting my employment status as I stalked the long line with two Canon Mark IIs and a Canon F100 video camera mounted on a tripod. 

   It was no secret I was a news photographer. A few job seekers hid their faces when I came near, but most were quite pleasant and seemed eager to share their resumes with hopeful employers inside the Lucas County Rec Center. Now that's optimism!

   I began my morning at sunrise documenting the last shift of Jeep workers on Stickney Ave. Bankruptcy temporarily took their jobs away. So, between Jeep workers losing their jobs and job seekers turning out in the thousands, well, I'm feeling both lucky and sad. 

   What is happening? We are all on the verge of experiencing a 21st Century Great Depression. Hold on to your savings, cuz it's gonna be a bumpy ride... 

Toledo's Take Back the Night was held April 25, just three days before Barbara Swiergosz's estranged husband went looking for her at work at an Ottawa Hills nursing home, and held her hostage for hours.

For us news hounds, most of us are aware this is the second time within a month her husband-who-shall-not-be named (Harry Potter reference) took her hostage. In both cases he gave himself up and the incidents ended without loss of life.

 When journalists are dispatched to scenes like this, we expect the worst because we've seen the worst. Photojournalists on the scene, including myself, were obviously relieved when our photos documented a terrified, injured woman coming out in a bathrobe, and a handcuffed man escorted by 5 police officers, instead of body bags loaded into the coroner's van. 

   These kinds of spot news assignments are hard on our psyches, difficult for the families to read the next day, and sad reminders for all abused women, children and men who suffer at the hands of angry, violent, disturbed tormentors. 

   I can only hope there is a lock and key for those who can't control their anger and hurt.

On Censorship

   "Fear not."  Easy to say, but bravery's not so simple when it comes to certain things, like dark alleys, growling dogs and censorship.

    I recently wrote a paper for my master's class on my fears as a high school journalism advisor. I'm not an adviser, but what came to mind was censorship. The following is an excerpt from my paper:

What are my most frightening fears?

1. not being able to find an adviser job at a school that doesn’t make me shed my “constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” (1)

2. teaching journalism students they have the right and responsibility to cover controversial, sad, pathetic and dangerous topics, but not allowing them to do so.

 (1) 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District court case on freedom of expression in high school.

Administrators need to give journalism advisers the freedom to teach their students  the craft of journalism, and that includes letting students learn from their mistakes.

 

Baseball is here! Thought I'd post two completely different takes on two separate baseball games - one during the University of Toledo game against Bowling Green, and the other the Mud Hens. Both were shot April 22, and neither will be published in The Blade. But I thought they were worthy of at least a blog...

First blog for Susan

      I wish I would have taken this class before I started teaching my Intro to PJ course. This course has given me many ideas and useful information, like forcing me to face Twitter, Avatars and blogging. This is our future, and to be able to teach journalism, we need to embrace the ever-changing technology.