Digital editing – ethical attitudes different for videographers, photographers

Faculty Forum features Bradley Wilson

Digital editing – ethical attitudes different for videographers, photographers

Bradley Wilson, Associate Professor of Mass Communication at Midwestern State University, says that a survey of 241 print and video photographers showed significant differences in the two groups’ attitudes toward digital editing.

Wilson will discuss those differences in the upcoming Faculty Forum presentation “Not All Black and White: Print and Video Photojournalists Display Different Ethical Standards” at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, in Legacy Hall’s Multipurpose Room.

How print photographers handle ethical dilemmas in terms of content or digital manipulation has been well documented, Wilson says. In 1995, Tom Wheeler and Tim Gleason of the University of Oregon offered an ethical protocol for the digital age when Photoshop was barely five years old, giving print photographers — such as those who shoot for the Times Record-News or MSU’s college-based print media program — clear guidance for the evolving digital world.

However, Wilson says, how video journalists — such as those who shoot for television news and in MSU’s college-based broadcast program — respond to similar situations is undocumented. Citing images from the Boston Marathon bombing, Wilson says video photojournalists were more likely to tolerate digital manipulation and to publish ethically questionable images.

Faculty Forum is a monthly showcase for the research and creative endeavors of the Midwestern State University faculty. It is an opportunity for the campus and Wichita Falls communities to learn, engage, and sometimes discuss the novel ideas and explorations of the talented individuals who teach, discover, and create at MSU Texas. Admission is free and open to all. Contact Jonathan Price by email or call 940-397-4288 for more information.