Is neutrality possible during times of war?

The eyes of the world through the lens of a camera.

I’m regularly asked by people if what we do as journalists can change anything. Well it’s not our job to set out and change the world – we are there to witness and report the world’s events neutrally without fear or favour. At best our job is to inform people and let them know what is going on, which is a valuable part of the democratic process.

Wise words from Channel 4 News cameraman Stuart Webb. I’m intrigued to know that if journalists/cameramen film what they see in front of them, do they have to remain impartial. It is, after all – reality. I think during times of war it can be hard to remain impartial but one thing it can do is open our eyes up to those particular events and we can judge for ourselves.

All the pictures of atrocities in Bosnia didn’t stop the war there or end the genocide in Rwanda – but maybe the pictures and experience of Bosnia prompted the west to act quicker in Kosovo.

Stuart goes on to say in his blog that the media can play a vital role particularly when it comes to natural disasters and works vitally hard to get the best possible pictures to convey the mess of a particular situation.

But natural disasters are maybe one area where the media can have a very positive influence. People at home and around the world can only gauge how bad a disaster really is when the media all pitch up and show it.

The coverage becomes part of process which prompts people and governments to donate money and act. So when I cover a story like Haiti I always work as hard as I can to get the story out – I’m there to do my job but if what I do can help, then there is a responsibility to try even harder.

War and natural disasters are hard and dangerous enough places to work in without having to focus on getting your piece accurate and impartial. For me bearing witness, recording events and informing the public with the lens of a camera is just as important.

In the Line of Fire, won the International Current Affairs RTS Award in 2004. The film has some remarkable footage moments after a US bomb in Iraq – killing 16 and injuring 45. It provides a unique insight into the horrors of war. I recommend you watch it.

Another video featuring a cameraman – this time Brit Jeff Chagrin, who was shot while attempting to cover Afghanistan.

Do ethical decisions enforce bias?

This blog is a scenario that I would like you to read. You are the editor of a massive media outlet. The footage you receive through the wires comes to your desk at 13:00 local time. This war is your top story and of massive public interest – you need a report for the 18:00 national news.

THE SCENE: The bullets fly over my head, the wailing screams of death ring around me. I find myself walking into a darkened alleyway, just off the main square. It’s littered with debris from the buildings around me. The light slowly dims as the walls tower around me, leaving me plagued with fears of apprehension. I’m drawn towards a figure at the end of the alleyway and follow my feet towards them with my cameraman. As I get closer, the figure slowly changes to the more familiar shape of a person. I can’t quite tell what, or who she is.

I get closer. It’s a woman, no older than 30. I can’t see her face, she is clutching something. As I go closer I can see that she is holding something. Something she doesn’t want to give up. It’s a small child. The child is lifeless, laying in a pool of blood, which is spilling down the slope of the alleyways dusty surface. The woman, who I presume is the child’s mother, seems very distraught. She clutches the child close to her breast, with her arms tightly wrapped around the lifeless torso. The young girl is dead – her blood stained clothes have seeped through into her mothers. The bottom half of the young girls body has disappeared. I look further down the alleyway and her legs lay lifeless on the ground – a stones-throw away from her remaining body. Her face is unrecognisable, shrapnel has disfigured the once gentle and innocent features, and her body is badly burnt. She was fired upon by a rocket propelled grenade and it has taken her life in a pitiful way. The mother sobs into the daughters hair, and she lets out an unbearable sound of emotion – a piercing scream – as she realises her child is gone.

What do you do?

1. Edit the footage making sure you do not include any scenes that some viewers may find disturbing
2. Use small amount of footage that is ‘tasteful’, and get a live interview link with the reporter from the war-ravaged city
3. Show the footage in its entirety saying this report has graphic images
4. Wait until the 22:00 news to show the footage after the watershed
5. Do not show any footage
6. Other

I refrain from claiming that any of these options are right, but these are just some of the questions many journalists, editors and news programmers will face. It’s a tough job for journalists to remain impartial. But not hiding anything from the viewer is the sole responsibility of the journalist and journalism as a profession. We are the observers, the reporters. If we are not allowed to report what we see going on in front of our very own eyes then journalism will die a slow death.