Ethics: Would You Shoot The Starving Girl/Vulture Pic?

Here's your responses; think about what each person has to say.

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I like that the photographer secured help for the girl! I wouldn't have hesitated to run this story. Maybe it's because it has been so long since this took place and that wound has somewhat healed in my head but I think this photo does a great job illustrating war. It shows the humanity side of the attacks and that war has no limits.


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While the picture shows a very disturbing image, I believe there are not substantial ethical problems with it to not be shared. The publication of the picture lead to a lot of humanitarian relief for the Sudanese people. Many people now understood the dangers of malnutrition and wanted to help.

            Media credibility dictates that the public must know about situation no matter how visually difficult they may be to accept

            At the same time we are not sure what happened to the girl. If the vulture did indeed end up eating her Kevin Carter, the pictures photographer, should have stopped him and protected the girl. Articles online say that the vulture stalked the girl for 20 minutes but do not expand on whether the vulture did harm her.

            Additionally, I do not see any ethical issues with objectivity or bias.

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1. I think this picture creates a lot of false assumptions at first glance. I don't think it should have been published because it does seem like this photo caused false speculation that the vulture ate the starving girl after the picture was snapped. 

2. I would not have published this photograph without a caption clearly stating that the girl did not get eaten by the vulture, and I would certainly not ever use words like "lurking" to refer to the vulture because that would indicate many things that did not happen.

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 1. This photo was difficult to agree with. Overall, I do believe that the journalist, Carter, did do the right thing by having it published. It tells quite the story and opened many eyes to the poverty and need in Africa. This illustrates the idea of objectivity. The photographer could not become so attached to his work and the starving girl to allow it to interfere with his work, yet he feels compassion toward her (even chasing off the vulture after she stood and continued on). The right amount of compassion is what makes good journalism.

2. I would have taken the same course of action that this photojournalist did. I would struggle, though, with whether the world needed to see this while I stand by simply taking photos and submitting them. What kind of realistic impact will this image have on the public that I couldn't have by helping out the child right here and now? However, by remaining objective, I would think to myself that I have a job to do. My job as a photojournalist is to observe and document the world and the people in it to create an impact on others that my work reaches and hopefully make an impact on the subjects of my work. There would also be a sense of futility if I were to try and help every child that was starving around me. This is also a case of whether or not this photo is newsworthy and education or simply sensational. I feel that this is an example of a newsworthy subject that would educate the public on the situation in Africa. In fact, it even got the attention of President Bush. However, I would personally have an issue with my photos being used initially for good and then morphing into political strategy rather than helping the starving, as occured under President Carter in Somalia shortly after.






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a. I do not agree with the course of action that this photographer took at all. In fact it absolutely disgusts me what happened.  Not sure if the girl ended up making it to the food center or was picked at by the vulture but if she were to die could he have been held libel for her death? Whether or not it was in his job description it is the simple human act of help that could help her survive and he refused to do that.

    b. First off I would have taken the photo. Sure it is my job to go out and get the information and photos to ensure the story is finished. However, after I see a huge macro issue here, the fact that young children can’t even reach the food center and could die of hunger. I know as a journalist you are supposed to stay out of the situation and remain unbias and such but in this situation I throw my job title away after the shot is taken and protect this girl. 

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-I don't agree with the course of action taken by the photojournalist. The photo is in bad taste and acts in an insensitive manor to the real-world issue.

-If I was the photographer I wouldn't have posted the photo. The photo violates cultural values and the headline is insensitive to the circumstance and victim.


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1)   This photograph has been discussed in many of my photography classes as well as social science classes. I understand the photographer received a Pulitzer prize for the picture, and a lot of press as well. From a professional standpoint, I understood what he was trying to convey: a child, so emaciated, obviously about to die, that a vulture was just perched a few feet away—awaiting his next meal. It is horrific to think about, repulsive to even entertain the thought, but that is the reality of the event and what happens to millions of children a year. As far as ethics goes, the lines are blurred. There isn’t really libel happening, nor is there even a way for the person in mention to defend themselves-and that may be where the real case is. Even if the child didn’t agreee with the photo, he was not in the right state of mind-physically, mentally, emotionally, or mature enough to argue that it shouldn’t be published. She was a malnourished child, fighting to stay alive. Something about that does not seem inherently right.

2)   If I was the reporter, I think I would cross boundaries at this point. I would definitely step out of my professional standpoint and help the child. I understand we are not supposed to interfere with the events that we are reporting on. I understand we are not allowed to place ourselves in the situation. But reporters are humans, and we have compassion. I can’t  help but think of the horrific feelings I would have, and the immense guilt of not knowing what happened to that boy, if I didn’t help her. I understand, in a way, why the photographer ended up taking his own life. Sometimes, these issues are too much to bear. 

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2. The Vulture: This photo has haunted me since my high school photography class days. When I look at this photo I see/feel two things, the pit in your stomach when you see what reality is for some but also a story that needs to be told to wake people up to the ignorance that is taking place around the world. While it is entirely a photo no one wants to see, the power of this photo is immaculate, considering I was 16 years old when I first saw this photo and today at 20 I still feel the same way the first day I saw it. This photo, to me, is more about telling the story, to explain how this child's life is watched by a vulture due to the malnutrition that is taking place. The child in the photo is not identifiable leaving the chance of embarrassment or hurt if other family members were to see this photo. The fact that it lead Kevin Carter to his own death, creates a greater pit in my stomach when I look at this image. The damage it did to the man mentally proves the power of photography, saying so much more than someone could have type with the emotional trigger that you can not avoid, in which you could if you were to just read type explaining the vulture stalking the illy-thin child. In this case I certainly do not know what Carter went through, as death was his result, but I do believe if I had the opportunity to take this photo, I would. It is a horrific, heartbreaking photo, but it says much more than most photos for it is our world's reality even if we like to turn the blind eye. It hurts to look at but it helps those remove their blinders on life and their perfect lives to see the wrong that we do very little to stop everyday.


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Again, as I said about the last photo, if I were a photographer I would have definitely took a picture of that moment and published it like Kevin Carter. Like the “Falling Man” photo, the starving girl photo symbolizes and represents a real world issue that is happening today – graphic or not. The photo single-handedly shows to you a real life, non-fabricated first hand look of the seriousness of world hunger in Africa. The photo is a successful display of the famine in Africa without having to read anything or worrying about a biased or unbiased opinion.

Regarding the values and ethics of the picture, I do not see anything wrong with the image. Like in the “Falling Man” image, the photograph isn’t harmful to the identified girl or her family, the health or safety of the vulture, and it successfully showed the seriousness of the issue of world hunger in Africa.

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