Gütersloh, 12/06/2023

The Power Of Images

At its most recent meeting, Bertelsmann’s Press Freedom working group (AG Pressefreiheit) discussed the influence of photos and videos on freedom of the press and freedom of opinion. The guest speaker was Cornelia Fuchs, who has worked as a journalist for “Stern” for almost 25 years, among other things heading the international desk for many years, and is now Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the magazine.

Bertelsmann’s “Freedom of the Press” working group, which has now been in existence for more than eight years and includes colleagues from various divisions, convened for their most recent meeting on November 24. The 90-minute Teams conference revolved around the “power of images.” Sonja Schwetje, Chair of the Press Freedom Working Group, said: “What photos of armed conflicts or terrorist attacks are we allowed to show as a responsible editorial team? Which ones should we show? And what are our reasons for deciding not to publish certain images? These are very pressing questions, especially against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group.”

In her keynote speech, journalist Cornelia Fuchs used numerous examples to illustrate the daily challenges faced by the editorial team at Stern magazine when selecting photos, particularly from war and crisis zones; the criteria used to decide whether to publish them; how these criteria have changed over the past decades; and what picture editors can do to protect themselves from systematic influence-mongering by stakeholders or groups with vested interests.

“Photos and film footage,” says the experienced journalist, “are of course very important for the coverage, especially when it comes to depicting reality and vividly documenting the brutality of war or terrorism.” To be able to live up to the high level of responsibility that comes with selecting such photos, she says that various factors must be taken into account: “Our photo editors are mindful of the fact that photos from war zones, for example, are only possible if at least one of the warring parties allows this. Accordingly, our colleagues must always consider the source of the images and whether they might be intended for propaganda purposes or disinformation.” Other aspects that play a role in the selection of images are of a more ethical nature: Is the dignity of the people depicted preserved? Will viewers be able to handle the image? Have relatives of the persons depicted given their consent or even expressed a wish for publication?

But even once all these questions have been answered and a photo has been cleared for publication, the journalist’s work is far from done. “As serious reporters, it is of course our duty to always place the images in an appropriate context, i.e. to inform the viewer about the context in which the photo was taken or whether there were any restrictions or requirements when it was taken,” said Fuchs in her presentation. Speaking specifically on the subject of “Images and press freedom”, she concluded: “Press freedom in relation to images of war always means startling or shocking the viewer. Freedom of the press means making responsible decisions in each individual case and always being mindful of the fact that war and terrorism are brutal. Anyone who fails to show this brutality is whitewashing reality.”

The intense discussion that followed the journalist’s presentation focused, among other things, on very practical aspects of daily editorial work. For example, the question of how editors manage to select the photos that are then published online or in the magazine from the large number of images submitted – agencies currently send between 6,000 and 8,000 photos on the Middle East conflict alone to the “Stern” editorial team every day – or how editors deal with the psychological stress that comes with this demanding work. They also discussed the problem that AI-generated images are now increasingly in circulation, and are often posted on social media without comment. All participants agreed that this new challenge is just one of the many reasons there is such a great need for intensive media literacy training, especially for younger people.

The members of the Bertelsmann working group “Freedom of the Press” are Sonja Schwetje (Chairwoman of the working group, RTL Deutschland), Barbara Kutscher (Bertelsmann), Oliver Fahlbusch (RTL Group), Regina Kammerer (Penguin Random House), Rebecca Prager (Penguin Random House), Pierrot Raschdorff (BMG), and Gernot Wolf (Bertelsmann Marketing Services/Arvato).