google “kevin carter pulitzer photograph.” he was a photographer who got a great picture of a starving sudanese toddler struggling to make it to a U.N. camp while a vulture waited in the background. he waited and watched because he was hoping the vulture would spread its wings. would it have gone against journalist principles to put the camera down and pick the child up? not sure why carter decided not to get involved but, incredibly, i’ve heard people argue that he was following journalistic principles. “as a journalist your role is to be an observer and reporter of the facts, not an active participant in the news.” hmm. what’s wrong with this picture?

carter was supposedly wracked with guilt and later committed suicide. ironically, that picture was so powerful it probably saved more lives and had a greater impact on the fight against poverty than anything else he could have done that day in the sudan.

I’ve never thought about journalism in this way, but I can definitely see how – to a certain extent – this is absolutely true. I also think that we as a society put way too much emphasis on objectivity, which is such a difficult concept to pin down in the first place.