„A photojournalist is a person who complements a media report. He can attach a photo or video. Although he is behind the camera and out of range of the public, his role is very important, because without him, media reports would be incomplete and insufficient. So, the photojournalist and the journalist form an integral whole,“ reporter Stefan Milivojevic explained the role of those who work behind the camera.
In the latest episode of the media literacy campaign “OpisMEDIJavanje,” Milivojevic spoke about the different types of photojournalists, their role, and the limits of ethical behavior.
The perception most familiar to the people is the one based on the sense of sight. That’s why a photograph speaks louder than words. Every detail in a photo or video can contain a deeper essence, for which many words would be needed. Just as tangible and material evidence that tells the reality is valued the most in history, so too a video or image can really show us what the event looked like.
As an example of such work, Milivojevic cited a photo of a body of a three-year-old child, who drowned, on the shores of Turkey taken during the Syrian migrant crisis in September 2015, but also a photo from the SNS rally showing private security removing people from the plateau and choking photojournalists.
„This photo managed to show the Serbian public what the event really looked like,“ he explained.
Milivojevic, however, also warned that there are professional limits which photojournalists as media workers must respect.
„Ordinary citizens have total protection of privacy, while public figures have partial protection. However, if ordinary citizens find themselves at a public gathering such as concerts, protests, conferences, and parades, they can be photographed, recorded, and later published. Minors, on the other hand, are completely protected. Although it is legal to take photographs of public figures, their private lives should not be photographed and filmed. The paparazzi are dealing with this unethical work,“ he stressed.
He added, however, that as long as people buy such media content there will always be funds to pay for the work of the paparazzi.
„There is a famous saying ‘guns do not kill people, people kill people’. The same can be said in this case, because the paparazzi will have work as long as there are people interested in the juicy gossip involving public figures,“ he said.
The KoSSev portal, in cooperation with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, launched a media literacy campaign. See what other journalists have had to say in the previous episodes of “OpisMEDIJavanje”
OpisMEDIJavanje: Fact-checking protects the journalist and the reputation of the media
OpisMEDIJavanje: Public service broadcasters should reflect the pluralism of society
OpisMEDIJavanje: Sometimes a politician’s refusal to answer a question will be the answer
OpisMEDIJavanje: Beware of hybrid objective journalism
OpisMEDIJavanje: To whom should you report the media if they violate your rights
OpisMEDIJavanje: Integrity, not clicks
OpisMEDIJavanje: Only media close to the government in Belgrade can reach Kosovo Serb politicians
OpisMEDIJavanje: Think about where the media get their money from
OpisMEDIJavanje: Any unverified information or half-truth can lead to major consequences
OpisMEDIJavanje: You have the right to know what the institutions are doing
OpisMEDIJavanje: Young journalists rarely have the opportunity to work in professional newsrooms
OpisMEDIJavanje: Minority media in Kosovo are important but financially vulnerable
OpisMEDIJavanje: Even-steven, only in the interest of truth
OpisMEDIJavanje – A guide to the news you release into your world!
OpisMEDIJavanje: Fake news often lurks in headlines
OpisMEDIJavanje: Kosovo Serb journalists perceived as unfriendly and irrelevant
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
