During a conference for agricultural journalists from around the United States and Canada held recently, a journalist from a respected U.S. publication said her fellow staff sometimes carry props in the trunks of their cars.
Why? If they want to photograph farmers spraying and they aren’t wearing protective gear, the journalists take out the proper outfit and get the farmers to put it on before pictures are taken.
This led to a lively informal debate around the lunch table on whether this was ethical, and defining the role of journalists. The writer explained her publication wanted to reflect successful farmers using good farming practices, and would never snap pictures of farmers using improper ones.
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Other journalists at the table argued the role of journalists should be to reflect reality: if improper farming practices are still occurring, then the camera should capture the image. Journalists should record the news, not influence it by setting up an image of Utopia.
Sometimes The Western Producer receives letters and calls from readers who are upset with photos showing scenes like children near a grain hopper, or farmers handling chemicals without safety gear.
Are we doing more harm by running snippets of reality in the countryside, or by covering them up?
If the media covers up the incorrect images, who benefits?
This doesn’t change the number of incidents happening. People will be more greatly influenced to change their habits if they’re pressured by their peers – who are outraged by the pictures – than by just seeing images of what they probably know they should be doing.
Worse than ignoring reality is providing props for the bogus image. Creating the false photo is deceiving the readers. And in this industry, credibility is paramount.
