The Journalist's Dilemma

As I was reading about the shooting of a Japanese photojournalist in Burma this last week, several issues of journalism came to my mind. The article spoke about how journalists should be protected when covering dangerous situations like the Myanmar protests, but I don't understand how this could be ensured. The world can't stop just so a journalist can get a picture, but the journalist still has every right to be there. It's inevitable that someone trying to get as close as they can to major - and often dangerous - events will eventually be put in harm's way.

Another issue I thought of as I was looking at the picture accompanying the article was, what should be put out to the public? I know we are a free country and everything should be put out there for general knowledge, but what are the ethics of showing the last moments of someone's life? Is journalism above anything that may be sacred? It seems that one has to choose between showing the whole truth, or hanging on to some shred of dignity.

The last time I really thought about this issue was immediately after September 11th when Time Magazine ran the photos of people falling from the Twin Towers immediately after the attacks. I remember opening the magazine and turning it on its side to see the full-page spread of people falling to their death. While the image got to me and has stuck with me these last six years, I rememeber being immediately appalled. I was looking at the last moments of someone's life. What if this victim's family saw this article? What if they recognized a body? a face? Had this photo been taken to record history or to sell magazines? The unanswerable questions made me feel worse in a time when I thought I couldn't feel worse and made me wonder where our standards are or where they're going to go from here. The time may come when I'll be a real journalist, and I'm afraid to ask myself the question: when deciding between showing the world the truth and protecting the sacredness of human life and death, which will I choose?