The temptation to stage is very, very strong sometimes. Even for the tiny little projects we have to do for this class, I've had to resist the temptation to stage several times. (Though I'm not quite sure about the injunction to get get nat sound...do I have to stage a little bit to get the nat sound I want? Sometimes it seems like it, at least in terms of, "Please play the game/sketch a drawing/start eating so I can record the sound of it.")
Still, the eye-rolling reaction of the poster on sportshooter.com, to the sight of the "TV guy" asking outright for a recreation, is understandable. Probably more than understandable, maybe even required for the sake of moral superiority. Documentary makers are already skating on a thin edge when they do recreations in lieu of archival footage or photographs; journalists would be beyond the pale altogether. One of the functions of a journalist is to tell a story, but it's not supposed to be a fictional story.
Jashin
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Staging Shots
Dave Wertheimer's post about staging was short and to the point. I completely agree with Wertheimer's ethical stance on staging. It isn't reporting the news. However, I also know the temptation of wanting to get something done for a class when you have other work to do. In many ways, I think being a student journalist is a lot harder than being a full-time journalist.
Wertheimer's best advice is to ask subjects to show him how they do something. This is a effective and legitimate way to give viewers information, while not reenacting the news.
Wertheimer's best advice is to ask subjects to show him how they do something. This is a effective and legitimate way to give viewers information, while not reenacting the news.
Photo Editing and Staging
Though I have little experience with video ethics, including the implication of staging video, I have a lot of photography experience. I know that the idea of cropping photographs or splicing images together in such a way that it alters the reality of a situation is wrong in still mediums, so I can only assume that the same standard should be followed when dealing with moving pictures or video footage. I think that the best photojournalists and videographers simply get it right the first time, and put in the time and effort necessary so that they get the good shot with that perfect light, or best frame, or capture the best moment at any given shoot. Using elaborate editing techniques or distorting reality, to me, is just sloppy photojournalism and a violation of the trust viewers have in journalists. It should be avoided at all costs.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
ethics in practice and under pressure
Mark Lewis
If done properly, staging can allow a journalist to tell a more compelling version of news events by alleviating the twin burdens of tenacity and creativity. Is that not true in some rare instances? Far more worrisome than newsroom policy is the young reporter or photographer who’s not yet been caught.
I don’t think any “believer” journalist would set out to lie in telling a story. More likely a scenario is that the journalist, for whatever reason (flat tire, etc.), misses a photo assignment with deadline looming. The clock is ticking and a red-faced editor is waiting. What if the ethical solution – finding another way to tell the story – is less effective than staging would be? What if the photographer knows it will not be good enough to fulfill the assignment?
In my undergraduate days, a slacker I knew fabricated a story that ran in the student newspaper. He was subsequently banned from its pages and became somewhat of a pariah in the J school. While the rest of us were writing stories for class credit, he had to write term papers. His infraction haunted him for a full two years, I think. People knew him as the guy who lied.
If done properly, staging can allow a journalist to tell a more compelling version of news events by alleviating the twin burdens of tenacity and creativity. Is that not true in some rare instances? Far more worrisome than newsroom policy is the young reporter or photographer who’s not yet been caught.
I don’t think any “believer” journalist would set out to lie in telling a story. More likely a scenario is that the journalist, for whatever reason (flat tire, etc.), misses a photo assignment with deadline looming. The clock is ticking and a red-faced editor is waiting. What if the ethical solution – finding another way to tell the story – is less effective than staging would be? What if the photographer knows it will not be good enough to fulfill the assignment?
In my undergraduate days, a slacker I knew fabricated a story that ran in the student newspaper. He was subsequently banned from its pages and became somewhat of a pariah in the J school. While the rest of us were writing stories for class credit, he had to write term papers. His infraction haunted him for a full two years, I think. People knew him as the guy who lied.
Staging Video
Tyson Sprick
I've wondered at times when watching TV whether the scenes I was seeing are truly candid. Well, after reading this article, I wonder how many really are. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised to read that some journalists in positions of power actually think it's okay to stage an event just to make for good TV.
Wertheimer mentioned that people involved in staged shots now assume that everything they see on television is staged, which is sad and unfair to journalists with any kind of morality.
"Our primary obligation is to seek truth and report it as fully as possible, not to manipulate or create news." When we stage scenes, we are getting as far away from this statement as possible. A good way to stay true to this is get the interviewees comfortable with the camera, microphone, etc. Wertheimer does this by setting everything up and then leaving for a few minutes. I've found in my little experience that people are wary of cameras and mics at first, but if you gain their trust and blend in with them and the surroundings people will open up.
There are other ways of getting good shots that don't involve compromising journalistic ethics. Perhaps the best way is to be prepared and don't miss the event in the first place. Regardless, it's important we understand that our job is to tell the truth, not make it.
I've wondered at times when watching TV whether the scenes I was seeing are truly candid. Well, after reading this article, I wonder how many really are. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised to read that some journalists in positions of power actually think it's okay to stage an event just to make for good TV.
Wertheimer mentioned that people involved in staged shots now assume that everything they see on television is staged, which is sad and unfair to journalists with any kind of morality.
"Our primary obligation is to seek truth and report it as fully as possible, not to manipulate or create news." When we stage scenes, we are getting as far away from this statement as possible. A good way to stay true to this is get the interviewees comfortable with the camera, microphone, etc. Wertheimer does this by setting everything up and then leaving for a few minutes. I've found in my little experience that people are wary of cameras and mics at first, but if you gain their trust and blend in with them and the surroundings people will open up.
There are other ways of getting good shots that don't involve compromising journalistic ethics. Perhaps the best way is to be prepared and don't miss the event in the first place. Regardless, it's important we understand that our job is to tell the truth, not make it.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Staging=Fake?
Staging? It's ok. But don't be fake.
The norm of journalism includes accuracy, objectivity, etc. That is to say, journalism has to be the truth. Journalists have to tell their audiences the facts, rather than any fake things, or scenes. Carpote wrote a non-fiction novel, which is ridiculous to me. Because when I read the book, I could not believe what he had written. That's not journalism at all.
However, sometimes you cannot avoid staging. A couple of years ago, when I was walking in a park carrying my camera to complete my assignment, I saw an old couple sitting on a bench, leaning on the back, with their eyes closed. They seemed like having a nap, very peacefully, comfortably. Then I got more close to them to get a full shot. Unexpectably, they opened their eyes... So I had to ask them whether I could take a photo of them, and whether they could close their eyes again. They were so nice, and did what I wanted them to do. But when my camera focused on them, I could not find the peaceful atmosphere any more. They closed their eyes, and sat so stiffly as bodies... That is really a bad experience of my staging photos.
Actually, I find that in America, many people are very willing to express themselves naturally toward a still camera or video camera without any trouble. That means journalists' work will be much more easier, doesn't it?
The norm of journalism includes accuracy, objectivity, etc. That is to say, journalism has to be the truth. Journalists have to tell their audiences the facts, rather than any fake things, or scenes. Carpote wrote a non-fiction novel, which is ridiculous to me. Because when I read the book, I could not believe what he had written. That's not journalism at all.
However, sometimes you cannot avoid staging. A couple of years ago, when I was walking in a park carrying my camera to complete my assignment, I saw an old couple sitting on a bench, leaning on the back, with their eyes closed. They seemed like having a nap, very peacefully, comfortably. Then I got more close to them to get a full shot. Unexpectably, they opened their eyes... So I had to ask them whether I could take a photo of them, and whether they could close their eyes again. They were so nice, and did what I wanted them to do. But when my camera focused on them, I could not find the peaceful atmosphere any more. They closed their eyes, and sat so stiffly as bodies... That is really a bad experience of my staging photos.
Actually, I find that in America, many people are very willing to express themselves naturally toward a still camera or video camera without any trouble. That means journalists' work will be much more easier, doesn't it?
Staged, Staging, Stages
Suekyoung Kim
NFL draft party and florist cases did show how ethics matter when shooting a video. Staging is never right for journalists because it alters truths. That’s why professors urge journalism students to be aware of various codes of ethics that are related to fields of their future career. Dave Wertheimer says if you do not feel comfortable putting someone in an unnatural situation, put your foot down and don’t shoot it, or figure out a different way to get the story on the air. If we don’t keep this in mind, what ensures journalistic reports different from Hollywood movies? Even though it varies in degree, however, reproducing can never be the original. What really matters most is indeed staged images could deceive its audiences. The case from “sliding sound, altered images” in which KLAS added sounds to the surveillance camera video and aired it was something. Adding sounds to the silent video to make scenes close to the real setting? In this case, the fact that sounds were added to the video tape should be verified or the sounds that did not exist in the video tape should not have been added in the first place. There are lots of codes of ethics that whoever practices journalism should keep in mind. These articles brought why the principles of journalism and codes of ethics are so worthwhile to learn about to my mind again.
NFL draft party and florist cases did show how ethics matter when shooting a video. Staging is never right for journalists because it alters truths. That’s why professors urge journalism students to be aware of various codes of ethics that are related to fields of their future career. Dave Wertheimer says if you do not feel comfortable putting someone in an unnatural situation, put your foot down and don’t shoot it, or figure out a different way to get the story on the air. If we don’t keep this in mind, what ensures journalistic reports different from Hollywood movies? Even though it varies in degree, however, reproducing can never be the original. What really matters most is indeed staged images could deceive its audiences. The case from “sliding sound, altered images” in which KLAS added sounds to the surveillance camera video and aired it was something. Adding sounds to the silent video to make scenes close to the real setting? In this case, the fact that sounds were added to the video tape should be verified or the sounds that did not exist in the video tape should not have been added in the first place. There are lots of codes of ethics that whoever practices journalism should keep in mind. These articles brought why the principles of journalism and codes of ethics are so worthwhile to learn about to my mind again.
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