Media Ethics Blog

  As a photographer who sees a police officer knock down a homeless man and began kicking him, I know that I am left with two possible decisions that can be made. The first decision that I could make is to take photos of the knocking down and kicking of the homeless man. The second decision that I could make is to intervene and discourage the police officer from hurting the homeless man while also not taking the photo. I must remember to keep in mind that the instructions from the editor was to keep my eye out for any instances of police brutality. Before making my decision, I decided to think my options over carefully by using some of the five philosophical principles that govern media ethics. 

The decision to take photos of the knocking down and kicking of the homeless man by the policeman would go with the philosophical principle known as Mill’s Principle of Utility. Mill’s Principle of Utility states that journalists should choose the choice that will make the most people happy even if someone is left unhappy. In other words, the choice that should be taken is the one that will benefit the most people. For example, if there were two tracks that had people tied to it the track that the conductor should take according to the Mill’s Principle of Utility would be the track that had the less people so that more people could be saved. In this situation, printing the photos could prove to be more beneficial than it could prove to be more harmful. 

The decision to intervene and discourage the police officer from hurting the homeless man and not taking or printing the photo would go with the philosophical principle known as Aristotle’s Golden Mean. Aristotle’s Golden Mean Principle is a good form of ideology that journalists use to judge whether something should be published. This principle helps journalists find a perfect balance between certain extremities and avoid conflict that involve being too ethical or not being ethical enough. The Golden Mean Principle shows that there is a medium between every decision and the correct answer can be found there; to either print or not print something. Printing the pictures could prove to be graphic to the public, create a huge scandal within the police force, and injure a man. On the other hand, printing the pictures would still allow me to fulfill my job as a photographer. 

The decision that I have decided to make in this situation is to take and print the photos of the knocking down and kicking of the homeless man by the police officer. Although printing the pictures could seem to be extreme and maybe even dangerous for pointing the finger and a cop, I feel that this would be the right thing to do. If I were to intervene and stop the cop from hurting the homeless man that would save the man, but the police officer could find another homeless man to beat up on afterward. However, if I didn’t intervene and took the photos of the police officer beating the homeless man, I could print them so that everyone could see what the police officer was capable of and in the end save more people. True, the homeless man would get hurt but seeing what happened to him could prevent other people like him from being victims of abuse. So, in conclusion, I feel that printing the pictures of the homeless man’s abuse by the police officer will fulfill Mill’s Principle of Utility and in the end benefit the homeless man by telling his story, save the lives of others, and take an incompetent cop off the streets; overall helping the community while doing my job as a journalist of telling the hard truth.