How COVID-19 has affected visual side of our journalism

The novel coronavirus has affected photography in the Daily Herald in two important ways - how we take pictures and video and how we publish them.

Most of us at the paper have been able to protect ourselves and others during the pandemic by simply working from home. Reporters must go to the scene of events occasionally, but rarely. Interviews can be conducted by telephone or Zoom, and even many public meetings now can be monitored on video. Stories can be written at home or from the field and transmitted electronically, and, in most cases, managers, supervisors and copy editors can accomplish the basic functions of their work remotely. It's not always as seamless or convenient as working shoulder to shoulder with each other in an office, but it's manageable.

For photojournalists, though, working from home is an option only partially. They can process and submit their work electronically, but the only way they can chronicle most events and people in the news is to be there in person. So, that requires wearing masks for every assignment, keeping conditions and equipment clean and maintaining 6 feet of distance from their subjects.

It also requires discerning judgment about what they shoot.

Our photographers and editors are resolute about depicting events accurately and without distortion. In general, that means, in the words of Director of Visual Journalism Jeff Knox, we "show people out doing what they do." But sometimes we may capture an individual or individuals ignoring social distancing or mask guidelines, and when that happens Knox, his photographers and other editors usually initiate a discussion to determine how we can best portray the story we want to tell visually. We want to show reality, but a picture that includes one person maskless at an event where almost everyone wears a mask can give a misleading impression about the event. A picture of multiple individuals blithely disregarding safety precautions may encourage some readers to follow suit.

In one recent discussion along these lines, Editor John Lampinen described our obligation in a context that applies not just to a highly contagious disease but to many other situations we cover.

"Irresponsible behavior," Lampinen said, "doesn't just affect the people who are irresponsible. It hurts everybody."

So, we take care not to encourage irresponsible behavior or portray it as normal in our photography and videography, as well as in our writing and decision making. At times, this requires a thoughtful balancing act between accuracy and restraint. But if we ignore or dismiss the effort, we let you down and forsake what one-time Paddock Publications patriarch Stuart R. Paddock Sr. described as the "only excuse a newspaper has for its existence" - the service we provide our community and our readers.

• Jim Slusher, jslusher@dailyherald.com, is deputy managing editor for opinion at the Daily Herald. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jim.slusher1 and on Twitter at @JimSlusher.