“Photography is the truth if it is handled by a truthful person.” – Don McCullin (2013)
Susan Sontag wrote in 1979 [1] that horrific images of war numb viewers’ responses., that they became immune to the impact. Although she revised this view later to ‘compassion fatigue’, it is still an important issue for photojournalism.
Recent Manchester terrorist attack resulted in some citizen journalism images being shared. One ‘citizen’ justified sharing graphic images by saying that she wanted people to see how horrible the world can be. I think a lot of people do know how horrible the world can be and that this could be seen as another ‘I was there’ moment.
One twitter user who was a survivor from an overseas terrorist attack a couple of years earlier pointed out how victims families and survivors are hounded by the media in the aftermath of these terrible events. She needed space to handle her thoughts and emotions but journalists didn’t give her or her family that opportunity. All they wanted was an angle and story to sell their newspaper. She said they moved on to a different story a week later. Her view was that media coverage of these types of events is irresponsible and adds stress to victims lives. She also identified that people who weren’t even there can suffer PTSD purely based on graphic images and descriptions of the events.
Don McCullin provides an insight in to war photography in the film documentary (2012) [2] by Jacqui Morris and David Morris. The film covers his career from the mid sixties to the eighties where he mainly provided images for the Sunday Times magazine. The images are harrowing and he does not hold back from showing the inhumanity of war. His dilemma is that he needs a picture but also wants to help. In most circumstances he did not have the power to help but he did have examples where he did.
Interestingly, the film interviews him in 2012 where he recounts his experience and these are interspersed with interview footage from previous decades. In the archive footage he discusses his work in a matter of fact fashion. He admitted that he enjoyed going to a war and wanted to go to more but realised that this increased the risk. It was only in the 2012 footage that he was reflective and emphasised the inhumanity of the world.
There was a parallel storyline and that revolved around the editorial aspect of the Sunday Times. McCullin worked under the editor Harold Evans when the Sunday Times’ coverage was independent and allowed McCullin a free hand at what he submitted. This stands in contrast to the photo coverage of the Farm Security Administration in America during the Great Depression where photographers were given a list of what types of images and content were required.
This independence changed significantly in the early 80s when Rupert Murdoch bought the Sunday Times and subsequently employed Andrew Neil as its editor. As a result there was a sea change in the independence of the newspaper and the likes of McCullin were no longer required.
An article [3] by Fred Ritchin from 2014 on the Time website highlighted the iconic images from wars during the last century and compared that to a lack of such images of wars in the 21st Century. This is possibly due to a decrease in independent journalism and media outlets – The Sunday Times being a prime example.
The conclusion I draw is that current media practice is to sensationalise everything. Their aim is not to help but to sell newspapers. Story first, impact on people second. Headlines have become more important than supporting images.
References
1. S. Sontag, On Photography, 1979
2. Don McCullin documentary, 2012, Jacqui Morris and David Morris.
3. http://time.com/3426427/syrian-torture-archive-when-photographs-of-atrocities-dont-shock/ (accessed 01/06/17)
Martyn Rainbird 