The University of Wisconsin’s journalism program has much to celebrate as it concludes this academic year. This year, 2005, marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the journalism program at UW, which was one of the first institutions to recognize students should be equipped with special reporting training before graduation.
What began as a single course taught by professor Willard Bleyer has grown into a huge department and a competitive program that covers not only the basics of how to write a story, but also emphasizes history and laws of the press, editing techniques and journalism ethics. Thanks to a $1 million gift from former Wisconsin State Journal Publisher James Burgess just weeks ago, the journalism school now has the opportunity to emphasize journalism ethics and renew its devotion to “media fairness, accuracy and integrity.”
This gift could not come at a more opportune time. As confidence in the press declines, journalists around the country are faced with serious challenges. Today, technological changes, corporate censorship, government intervention and an ever-present push to get the biggest-and-best story before the competition threaten journalistic accuracy and undermine credibility. Journalists also find themselves navigating thin lines between personal bias and a modern obligation to not just report facts, but interpret them and define their meaning for the reading and watching public.
Considering these complications, a recent change in U.S. Defense Department policy has made it far easier for journalists to pursue their commitment to quality and provide Americans with an essential reporting aspect that has been missing from war coverage. However, this new privilege comes with a solemn and necessary ethical burden, which journalists must always reflect upon as they include this newly available addition to Iraqi war coverage.
Last week, under heavy pressure from University of Delaware journalism professor Ralph Begleiter, Pentagon officials released nearly 300 photographs of fallen soldiers and their caskets. These images had been barred from public sight since 1991, when a law with the stated purpose of “respecting the families of those who had been killed” was passed. Begleiter sued under the Freedom of Information Act, and this Pentagon release appears to be the DOD’s pre-emptive attempt to avoiding a formal court ruling over the constitutionality of preventing the images’ release.
However, legal threats should not be the driving force behind the photographs emergence. A commitment to honor these troops and to provide the American public with a visual reminder of all the soldiers sacrificed should have been the stimulus behind this development. Families of the soldiers should of course feel that these images are being treated with the reverence and care that they deserve, but many would argue that this end is not best accomplished by blocking them from public view — a move that has connotations of discomfort and shame.
The visual documentation of the price paid by these heroes must be available so that we as a country can truly evaluate the costs of war and determine if our involvement is pursuing ideals that these soldiers stood and fell for. A picture is, without a doubt, worth a thousand words. It can stir a million emotions and is capable of producing a chorus of opposition, or a coalition of support.
Americans must be able to evaluate present-day conflicts with the aid of this powerful medium so that they can make informed decisions regarding the lives of their troops. A reporter for the BBC justified the former image ban by claiming that Americans cannot handle images of war. I would argue that this visual burden is incredibly small compared to the one we require families of the troops to bear when they pay the true costs of war.
Utmost care has been shown with the photos thus far. The Pentagon has blocked or removed all indications of personal identification and information. It is now the responsibility of journalists to ensure every possible measure is taken to ensure respectful treatment of these images as they are added to news coverage. Future journalists studying at UW will hopefully be up to this sometimes-heart-wrenching, always-difficult task of creating the most open and honest coverage available.
Burgess’ reasoning was correct when he made his donation and said “it’s time.” It’s time for a renewal of ethics in journalism, for open reminders of the costs of war and for informed discussion of nation’s most consequential decisions.
Sarah Howard ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science.
