If, as we are regularly encouraged to do, we pay heed to the lives and works of Robert Capa and John Morris, then, in the spirit of the field of journalism in which they both worked and to which they declared their commitment, we should do so “warts and all.” The fabrication of their D-Day myth has a prominent place among those blemishes. […]
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Bruce Young’s article on the Capa D-Day project, and the publication thereof by the National Press Photographers Association, constitute a textbook case of breach of professional ethics — made all the more egregious by NPPA’s posturing as a leader in ethical matters. […] Capa’s images show Armored Assault Vehicle 10 in no more than two feet of water, the one ahead of it in even shallower water. Later newsreel images will show them both in different position, further disproving Capa’s claim that Armored Assault Vehicle 10 was severely damaged. I’ll examine those images an upcoming post. […] Without exception, the recipients of the 2014 Society of Professional Journalists Awards exemplify the real deal. On major and minor platforms, in print and broadcast and online media, as staff or freelance/independent, they pursued issues they considered important, undertook investigations that sometimes lasted for months, often made enemies, but challenged authority, separated hard fact from self-serving fiction, and spoke truth to power. The award to us takes it as a given that we belong among them, as equals and colleagues. Speaking for the team, we cherish that association above all. […] |
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The “Visual Storyteller” Mantra
From where I sit, the most important consequence of this scandal (aside from reminding us that photographers, like most people, will do anything that benefits them, ethics be damned) lies in the fact that the vapid phrase “visual storyteller” has suddenly become highlighted — while acquiring a darker meaning — with the revelation that Magnum photographer Steve McCurry deploys it as a both a rationale and a magic charm that, he seems to think, immunizes him from the charges of bad faith and breach of professional ethics that accrue nowadays to a photojournalist who gets caught doing the same things. […]