Public Reactions toward an Ethical Dilemma Faced by Photojournalists: Examining the Conflict between Acting as a Dispassionate Observer and Acting as a “Good Samaritan”

Abstract

When documenting human tragedy, photojournalists frequently face ethical dilemmas in choosing between acting as dispassionate observers and “Good Samaritans.” This study asked whether readers adopt a situational ethics rationale when they assess the photojournalist's decision to make a photograph of a person suffering severe trauma. Using a mixed experimental research design, the study presented a news situation, i.e., a photograph in which a woman was on fire, in differing versions. Results based on the responses of seventy-two readers clearly showed that readers adopted a situational ethics rationale.