Sunday, 09 Jan 2005
The weather has been crap lately. Thick patchy fog, mixed with ice, slush, snow, and rain. Lovely stuff.
My wife and I were coming home along the main highway when we saw local firefighters directing traffic around an accident scene. A single vehicle, probably an SUV, was on its roof with all four wheels in the air at the bottom a gully near the highway's edge. I don't know if anybody was hurt, but I've ditched a few cars myself over the years and I do hope that everyone found their way out of it OK.
Now, accident scenes are hazardous places, especially when they are surrounded by traffic. People are looking at the wreck, not at you, even if you are in that big car directly in front of them. Traffic was light and I maintained my speed as we drove by. As we passed I handed my camera to the wife, asking her to film what she could.
Here's the dramatic video we captured:
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If you're going to have a video blog, you're going to be wrestling with video ethics, sooner or later. Might as well hash this out now.
I think we all agree that there are times when it's wrong to videotape an accident scene like this. Graphic footage that exposes some innocent on his worst day is inappropriate. Rubbernecking and getting in the way of traffic is always bad, and inhibiting rescuers is worse. Failing to help when your help is needed is probably worst of all.
I don't want to be that guy sticking a camera where it doesn't belong. I don't want to make a hazard of myself, or make a vulnerable person feel like he is being taken advantage of. The photo just isn't worth it.
On the other hand, there are times where it is perfectly OK to photograph something like this. Doing it safely and staying out of the way is important, but the real issue here is one of privacy and discretion. While it may be exploitive to film a ruined person, there is no exploitation in filming a ruined car. So long as no injuries are shown, nobody is going to be surprised when a photo of this accident turns up in the morning paper. There's no widely-held expectation that this was some sort of private event which shouldn't be presented to the general public.
Journalists are expected to publish stuff like this for thousands of people to see. No one's privacy is violated if I publish these same things.
Now, I certainly do not consider myself a journalist, and I'll add that I have as little interest in becoming a journalist as I do a car salesman or a lawyer. Why would it matter? Journalists have no special privileges, no ethical mandate to get in the way of traffic or to invade the privacy of others. All of us are bound by the same rules.
It would hardly be unusual for a blogger to post a news photo like this and say "You know, I drove right by here" while adding a few thoughts of his own about the incident. That's not leering or exploitation, it's just blogging. It's no different when you take the photos yourself.
The ethical bounds are really quite simple: there is nothing special about reporters, or bloggers, or anybody else. All of us must respect the people we write about, and to treat them with fairness and decency. We all become legitimate targets if make a nuisance of ourselves, or unfairly invade the privacy of others. All of us are judged by how we cover these situations, not by if we chose to cover them.
There is nothing wrong with reporting on what you see, and quite frankly, I expect that I'll always show a hell of a lot more restraint in these situations than the press usually will.
So where do you draw the line? It's easy.
I won't cause harm. I won't endanger others, and I won't publish anything about a private figure that I would not publish about my family or my friends. I'll stay out of the way and I'll film what I can, but if the film is too graphic, I won't use it. I won't allow myself to be censored and I won't fail to properly censor myself.
I think that's fair, and that's the way it's always been around here.
The camera really doesn't change anything. It just magnifies things, and makes them easier to see.
Here's the story from the local paper. Looks like everybody made it out OK.