The Falling Man

Who is he?

September 11^th was a day that would forever change the United States. It was filled with tragedy, heartache, and sadness. Many photos and videos were taken on the day, but none would cause more controversy than “The Falling Man.”

The Falling Man.

In the book, Media Ethics: Issues & Cases, a case study features the story of the “The Falling Man” photograph. It tells the story of photographer Richard Drew and how when he witnessed people jumping from the burning towers, he photographed them. The next day the photo ran in several papers with other photos from the attack. However, the photo caused quite the controversy with readers who began calling and emailing outraged by what they had seen.

The writers, photographers, editors, and other media professionals during the 9/11 attacks were faced with many ethical dilemmas. “In an event where every aspect of coverage was graphic, violent and horrifying, the decisions about what to show to tell the totality of the story became the decisions that relied heavily on the standards of those working the desks,” (Patterson 43).

So should the newspapers/television channels have run the photo?

To make a difficult decision like this one, journalism should turn to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. The code starts off with a preamble stating,

“The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility. Members of the Society share a dedication to ethical behavior and adopt this code to declare the Society's principles and standards of practice.”

The code of ethics goes on to explain four main ideas:

·       Seek Truth and Report It

·       Minimize Harm

·       Act Independently

·       Be Accountable

This code of ethics is helpful to evaluate a decision such as running “The Falling Man” image. One of the main facts is that it is an event that happened on the day of 9/11. It is newsworthy. The photographer did not doctor the photo and he was just at the right place at the right time to capture this moment. The reason the newspapers and television stations ran this photo is because it is a power image that portrays the tragic events and also the difficult choices the victims had to make in a time of crisis – either be trapped on a burning floor or jump. While the media was accountable and minimized harm by refused to run photo after the uproar from the public, they did their job by seeking the truth and reporting it.

Despite the help the code of ethics provides, it also is important to use different ethical perspectives as well when making decisions. Two examples would be Kant’s Categorical Imperative and Mill’s Utility Principle.

Kant’s Categorical Imperative brings focus to the action. “Immanuel Kant is best known for his categorical imperative which is most often stated in two ways. The first asserts that an individual should act as if the choices one makes for oneself could become universal law. The second states that you should act so that you treat each individual as an end and never merely a means,” (Patterson 9). Therefore the journalist should focus on the action of running the photograph. By running the photograph they are bringing light to one of the horrific events of 9/11. Does this mean that photographs of any subject should be published if it is horrific event? What if this became universal law? What if people began running photos of people dying all the time?

While Kant provides emphasis to the action, Mill’s Utility Principle focuses on the outcome of a situation. “The consequences of actions are important in deciding whether they are ethical,” (Patterson 10). So what would happen after running the photo? Well in the case study many readers were upset and filed complaints with the media. The newspaper or TV station could lose their audience if they are unhappy with the photo. The media could then regret showing the photo and would withhold from showing similar images to the public and therefore would be keeping information from people.

I think that based on the journalism code of ethics, Kant, and Mill that if I was in the same situation as the case study of “The Falling Man” that I would run the photo. I feel it is the obligation of the press to show the public every part of events especially heartbreaking ones like 9/11. It is not helping the public by censoring images like “The Falling Man”. While it can be painful to those that were victims of the incident, it brings to light the pain and suffering everyone as Americans feel and honors those individuals in the photos, instead of exploiting them. People made difficult decisions that day, ones that changed lives, so it is only fair to share those moments with the public. Those events were not only newsworthy, but were part of history.

Referenced and Cited Texts:

·       Media Ethics: Issues & Cases

·       Society of Professional Journalists: Code ofEthics