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Maria Lewis English 1301 Prof. Ranta 1/4/2011 Picture Perfect Award winning Novelist James Alexander Thom unveils the ethical dilemma of exploiting human grief for media propaganda. Award winning journalism is determined by the potency of a message to an audience. Thom understands that messages can be conveyed with images, oral communication, or words to express a point of view. Accepting the fact that media outlets are constantly competing to be the leading source of information, photo journalists have to decide how an image will impact the audience. A picture is worth a thousand words, rings true to those who have the ability to capture the visual expression of a message. Eye-catching headlines may draw the audience in to read or listen to a story, but the visuals concoct a mixture of emotions and inquisitiveness. Pain, suffering, tragedy, strife, violence, corruption, and destruction draw the most attention, so the stories cater to the popular interest of the audience. Accountability of moralistic reporting is not a general characteristic of most journalists, because their actions can be justified by their journalistic ethics. The public has a right to know everything and reporting true and accurate information, is the fallacious pledge made by the media. Thoms surrender to his moral consciences caused brief discord concerning his ethical principles. Capturing an awarding winning shot would not only change his life, it

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would also alter the lives of the subject in the photo. The type of change was the crucial factor of final verdict of his dilemma. Police scanners are generally the culprit in disseminating information to frequency ear hustlers who work for the press. On occasion the press is on the scene before the police, conducting their own investigation without proper authorization, striving to be the first to run the story. Thom was working as a police reporter and heard the bulletin report of a domestic fatality involving grandfather backing his pickup truck over his baby granddaughter. Prior to arriving on the scene he knew this was not going to be an easy assignment. Exiting his vehicle Thom could see the shell of man inaudibly responding to questions from reporters. Vultures of information surrounded the parents of the child and the grandfather, prodding relentlessly for a statement. Unsatisfied reports shifted focus toward the parents. Barley able to move, the white haired man stood near the flower bed were his granddaughters body was prior to being moved into the house. The childs parents looked like injured lambs as the reporter continued their quest for a story without regarded to the emotional state of the family. The grandfather managed to get away from the crowd, and found his way to the miniature figure wrapped in a white sheet, positioned on the kitchen table. Sitting down with his arms sprawled around the child, he did not detect Thoms presence in the room. In that very moment, Thom pulls his camera out knowing that this picture would show the utter grief and sorrow of the broken soul. Contemplating between his ethical duties as a journalist and his moral principles as an individual, he did not snap the picture. Gaining accolades from his peers was not worth the infinite exploitation of familys pain.

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Personal choice and free will to act according to what is right in each situation is a tough call for the average person. People have been and always will be consumed with information because we want to know what is going on. I could understand Thoms initial struggle of wanting to do his job and protect the grandfather. Conscious of the fact that if had he snapped that photo, every media outlet would replay the story exploiting it from every conceivable angle possible. The family had lost enough; the picture would have been a daily reflection of that pain. Fifteen years after the incident Thom reflects back to seeing the story and news and being pleased that he did never share the fact that he could have taken the Perfect Picture. This essay shows how we have the power to make positive choices and change the outcome of what could be a bad situation.