This article discusses depictions of death and topics surrounding public tragedy.
Only a few hours after One Direction singer Liam Payne fell to his death from a third-story hotel balcony in Argentina, TMZ posted an article including photos of the late singer’s body. The backlash that TMZ received from posting these invasive photos raises the question: what photos are appropriate to post in the face of ethical journalism?
TMZ’s (Lack of) morality
Shortly after Payne fell from his hotel room balcony in Palermo, Buenos Aires on October 16, TMZ uploaded cropped photos of the singer’s lifeless body. The photos were later taken down due to the loud public outcry. The images revealed the side of Payne’s abdomen as well as a part of his arm.
Journalists have the right to cover death under the First Amendment, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. However, there is still major discourse regarding what media is morally correct to publish during such a sensitive time of grief and vulnerability.
The uproar surrounding TMZ’s photos of Payne’s death exemplifies that journalists often risk violating ethical and moral guidelines when covering sensitive media such as death, even if they have the technical right to do so.
NPPA Code of ethics
“Photographs can cause great harm if they are callously intrusive” is a statement included on the National Press Photographers Association website. The NPPA is an organization that works to promote visual journalism and set high standards of integrity amongst visual journalists. To encourage integrity in photojournalism, the NPPA has incorporated the NPPA Code of Ethics, which is a set of guidelines that aim to ensure ethical practices by emphasizing the importance of treating subjects with respect and dignity.
TMZ’s photos of Payne’s body significantly violate the guidelines of this particular code of ethics. Code four specifically advises to “give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see”.
Considering the fact that Payne was a victim of a severe tragedy, TMZ’s photos clearly violate code four as the news outlet put his death on public display.
In response to backlash from journalists, fans, and even other celebrities, TMZ employees wrote that they obtained photos showing Payne’s body on the deck where he fell, but decided to only focus on his identifying tattoos rather than including his entire body in the photos.
In this case, there was no justifiable reason for these photos to be shared with the public. No matter how much or how little TMZ decided to show of Payne’s body, the photos were graphic, sensitive and not of public interest.
An unethical trend
One of the many celebrities who spoke out against TMZ’s immoral photos was Toni Cornell, the daughter of late musician Chris Cornell. Toni Cornell expressed her concern that the “disgusting and distressing” images of Payne’s body could impact Payne’s seven year old son, Bear Grey Payne.
Toni Cornell shared her own experience of stumbling across photos of her father’s suicide when she was just 12 years old. “It was indescribably traumatizing,” Toni Cornell said, “and something I still carry with me to this day”.
When the Soundgarden singer passed away in 2017, TMZ similarly posted photos of the scene of Chris Cornell’s suicide that are still posted to this day.
“TMZ still has not chosen to have the decency, seven years later, to remove those photos from the internet, and it is something I believe should be done,” said Toni Cornell.
Conclusion
TMZ’s photos of Payne’s body are only one example of the prevalence of unethical photojournalism in today’s media. The upward trend in immoral and emotionally distressing content from news outlets calls for a strengthening of ethical guidelines to hold journalists accountable.
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