What should editors pay attention to in disaster news editing?

Moderation principle of disaster news pictures

1. Disaster news photos should respect the privacy of the parties concerned.

The right of news media to report is based on respecting the privacy of the parties concerned. In disaster news reports, journalists should conceal clearly identifiable factors such as the names and addresses of the parties; In disaster news photos, the eyes, heads and other parts of the parties should be mosaic.

2. Pay attention to the shooting and processing methods of disaster photos.

First, the photographer should appear at the right time and keep a certain distance.

Photographers should be careful to set foot in some special places after catastrophic events, such as the private territory of victims or their relatives, places where religious and traditional ceremonies are held, and places where family funerals are held. The following points can be used as a thinking path for photographers: first, whether the pictures I predict have real news value; Secondly, whether my appearance conforms to the professional ethics of news photography; Third, whether my appearance will cause resentment, anger and even hatred of the parties.

If the result of thinking can appear, what is the appropriate distance, that is, the photographer's space? Some people think that when the subject is doing something solemn or excessively sad, the photographer should keep a solemn distance from the subject. Following the authenticity of news does not require reporters to shoot at the forehead of news figures, and the infinite expansion of personal sorrow does not help the audience to understand the whole news event. On the contrary, to take a step back and keep a certain distance can open a unique news perspective and reveal something deeper. Todd wrote it? Hales's work The Last Funeral won the Pulitzer Prize for photojournalism in 2006. During the filming, Todd? Hiles's lens has always kept a certain distance from the subject. It is this "certain distance" that makes the subject leave dignity, makes the readers moved, and gives the work a reason to win the prize. Such works also include works that won the third prize in the annual contemporary hot spot category in May, 20081Holland Competition, works of Ugandan father taking care of children suffering from dysentery filmed by French photographer William Daniels, works that won the third prize in the news person category (story) of the year, and the 70th anniversary of Nanjing Massacre filmed by Israeli photographer Ode Baliti of Associated Press.

Second, photographers should choose whether to shoot correctly in the face of different situations at the news scene.

1. Can I shoot on special occasions after catastrophic events?

The typical moment of choosing the news scene reflects the photographer's professional quality; The choice of shooting or not reflects the photographer's moral level. When deciding whether to shoot or not, the photojournalist plays the role of news gatekeeper, and he is faced with the first choice of news content. Because of the particularity of catastrophic photography (sometimes shooting means infringement), it is impossible for a photojournalist to take pictures without leaving details. So photographers should improve their moral standards. When the rules of ethics become self-awareness, whether to shoot can be decided instantly.

2. At the critical moment when the consequences of catastrophic events have not been determined, such as the tsunami, survivors drift to the sea and wait for rescue. Can you shoot at these times?

Photographers should be clear that the humanistic value of news photography is always higher than the professional value. Journalists are people first, then journalists. If someone has been rescued at this time, you can shoot; If the photographer is here alone, then the rescue is duty-bound.

Third, photographers should adopt appropriate shooting methods.

Shooting is the last and most important link for photographers in news scene work. Facing different scenes and different subjects, the shooting modes and methods adopted are quite different, but they are basically the same:

1. Pay attention to the authenticity. Some photographers decide the theme first, and the partial truth and the whole truth cannot be unified, which is also contrary to the news truth. In 2008, the winning work of the May1Holland Competition, The Assassination of Bhutto by American photographer John Moore, won the first prize of the annual emergency group photo because of its great news value and strong sense of the scene. Although the scene of the explosion is vague, it does not affect its dissemination value.

2. Respect the subject.

Facing the living, we need respect; The same is true for the dead. In the face of mutilated bodies or twisted bodies, unless it has extraordinary historical significance and news value, it is not suitable for shooting. At this time, photographers can use some skills to shoot, rather than the original state of being too horrible and bloody. For example, the filming of Tsunami, which won the 48th Best Photojournalism Award in the Netherlands, was shot by photographer Alcaud? Datta broke away from convention and only took one arm of the deceased into the camera, which is unique and makes the news information and the dignity of the deceased correct, which is worth learning from peers.

Editor: We can't emphasize the visual impact unilaterally.

News photographers include not only photographers, but also photo editors. Image editing is the key factor to ensure the smooth completion of image reprocessing and finally achieve the communication effect. The moral self-discipline of news photography not only needs the moral self-discipline of photographers, but also needs the moral self-discipline of photo editors.

First, send photographers in time.

A large part of catastrophic events are unexpected events. Although photo editors can't do detailed news planning, they can still decide whether to send reporters to report it through judgment and sorting. The value orientation and moral standards of photography editors play an important role in the whole photography work.

Second, screen the pictures reasonably.

Similar to what photographers think about whether to shoot or not, the choice of picture editors reflects their professionalism to a certain extent, that is, which picture has the most news value; The other part reflects the moral standards, that is, whether this picture conforms to the moral norms of news photography and whether it can be published. In the disastrous news photo report, the moral thinking of the photo editor on whether to adopt the photo is largely the judgment of the bloody, horrible and painful factors of the photo.

Nowadays, there is a new standard for the selection and adoption of such pictures: "1. Is there a photo of body double? " 2. The real value of publishing this photo; 3. Impact on the audience. "

When publishing this kind of pictures, the core idea that picture editors should follow is: it must be beneficial to the transmission of information to the greatest extent and cause the least harm. If this editing idea becomes a routine in the communication field, there will be no such phenomena as "the video of terrorists being beheaded" and "the video of Saddam being hanged" running rampant on TV and the Internet.

Third, use pictures reasonably.

The use of pictures is also very particular. Radas, photographer of Palm Coast Post? The careless arrangement of the photo editor hurt Kenny. Radas? Kenny won the Pulitzer Prize for Close-up Photography for taking photos of the unfortunate lives of new immigrants in the southern United States. To celebrate, the Palm Coast Post published side by side on the front page photos of Kenny spraying champagne when he won the prize, and photos of Kenny depicting the ragged children of new immigrant families when he won the prize. This made Kenny feel guilty and had to resign. This way of arranging pictures side by side through photo editing will definitely make readers compare the two pictures and create the illusion that Kenny takes advantage of others' misfortune to seek personal success.

In the disastrous news photography report, the picture editor should grasp the main tone of "disaster" and use the pictures reasonably;

1. On the layout, the content of the same layout should be consistent with the main tone. Catastrophic news pictures and related content should be avoided from being placed on one page with more relaxed content such as entertainment and leisure, and the opposite page should be coordinated with the main tone.

2. In the collocation of pictures, the pictures in juxtaposition or up and down positions keep the same theme.

3. Don't be too harmonious in the labeling of pictures or the language of messages.

4. The layout color, lines and shading of such pictures should be consistent with the main color. Its color should be cold, avoid warm color; Its lines should be concise and calm, and avoid complicated and fancy; Its shading should be generous and low-key to avoid publicity.

Newspapers should pay attention to social benefits and the interests of the broadest audience, and disaster photos are often treated because of blood. In shooting, black and white photos tend to dilute blood more than color photos, so panoramic shooting is better than close-up shooting; In processing, bloody photos are more acceptable as the background than as the foreground.