In 1992 I landed my first job as a graphic designer at a newspaper. At that time, neither traditional design nor trained designers were common fixtures in a newsroom.
Prior to the early ’90s, a lot of design was done on dummy sheets and pasted up in the composing room. There wasn’t much flexibility in the format, and elaborate designs weren’t easily produced.
A big change occurred with the introduction of the Macintosh computer and desktop publishing programs. Programs such as Adobe Pagemaker and early versions of QuarkXpress gave designers greater flexibility and creativity in their page layouts. Use of these tools had both positive and negative effects on the product.
Newspapers became more aesthetically pleasing, but often at the cost of accuracy of the report and the credibility of the visual journalist.
Contributing to that tension was the ability of the designer to create (manipulate) “cool” imagery in Photoshop. Desktop publishing was sexy and powerful. It offered nearly unlimited options for the designer. This was the era of Raygun magazine and its distorted typography that looked cool but produced a migraine if you tried to read it.
Throughout the ’90s the craft matured and a greater understanding of visual storytelling developed. Spin the clock ahead and designers have evolved into visual journalists with a passion for truthful and accurate presentation and documentation of the news. Designers have accomplished this with a creative eye and intelligent packaging that improves readability and understanding.
Now, in a move that suggests and re-enforces how far news design has come, The Society for News Design has drafted a code of ethical standards.
Poynter visual journalism group leader Kenny Irby was key in crafting the standards, and answers my questions on the development and its implications for the industry.
Anne Van Wagener: How did the idea for the code of ethics come about? Was there a specific catalyst?
Kenny Irby: Now is the time. There really was no specific one thing. The need for a code of ethics within the Society has long been discussed and debated. Early 21st century advances by visual journalists as integral members of news divisions in reporting and leadership roles, greater integration of sophisticated technologies and greater societal concerns about deception and bias in the media led Bill Gaspard, immediate past president of SND, to assemble a group to start this important work in June of 2005.
You were involved in the creation of the National Press Photographer’s Association code of ethics. How has that changed photojournalism?
My colleague Al Tompkins and I were advisers to that group. The NPPA’s code of ethics was a tremendous credibility jolt for photojournalists and picture editors across the United States. It generated immediate attention for photojournalists as partners in the reporting process. It also linked visual reporting closer to accuracy and truthful rendering, above aesthetics alone.
How do you hope this will change the way design is approached in a newsroom?
It is the collective hope of this committee that two things among many good results will happen:
The larger journalism community will embrace many visual journalists and colleagues employed in their respective organizations as valued members of the newsgathering team who share a common commitment to accuracy, honesty, fairness, inclusiveness and courage.
Those in the Society who have not been trained and/or immersed in the rigors of ethical decision-making will now have professional benchmarks to guide their endeavors toward credible creativity.
Should newsrooms use this as a foundation to create specific visual standards for their newsroom and mission?
With the utmost respect for autonomy in newsrooms, we know that many unique iterations will be implemented.
That said, I am an advocate of clear and direct integration of such standards into the existing codes of conduct and/or ethical standards at a media outlet. I suggest that newsrooms be specific when necessary and offer a range of examples or case studies where there is obvious cross-over as in areas of plagiarism, attribution, copyright and transparency, for example.
Should everyone in the newsroom, not just visual journalists, have a responsibility to understand and be accountable for their visual code of ethics?
Indeed, the sacred trust between readers/viewers is anchored by credibility. In open societies, not just democratic ones, people need to trust the media to witness authentically and report on the meaningful events of the day on their behalf.
The ethics code could be used not only as a guide to decision-making, but also as a part of an employee’s performance evaluation. If newsrooms aren’t already doing this, should they?
This is very important. Many newsroom employees have been subject to inconsistent standards of performance.
The SND code of ethics positions visual journalists as equals in the newsroom and makes all journalists responsible for upholding these standards. It would require managers and colleagues inside and outside of visuals to learn a common language and adhere to the same standards.
How do you see it being applied to the daily operation of the newsroom?
We hope that this document will influence decisions at many stages of the journalistic process in researching, reporting, rendering and presentation.
How would a newsroom use this as a training tool?
There are many options for implementation.
- Basic discussion among the leadership and/or groups of members in the newsroom.
- As a document of orientation, used in conjunction with existing standards and practices to be shared during orientation with new employees.
- As a reference on deadline during the period of reflection and reasoning when considering options for presentation alternatives.
- Ultimately, in my view, as a document worthy of being integrated into the main standards and practices guideline for the entire organization.
Now that SND has created these important guidelines, how can they help educate newsrooms in their application?
That is an excellent question. We hope that these guidelines will be the source of discussion in newsrooms around the globe. And that if they don’t adopt our code, they will create and implement their own.
The Society for News Design is seeking your feedback on the proposed code of ethical standards. Responses should be sent to Bill Gaspard at sndethics@yahoo.com and/or posted in Poynter’s feedback area.
