Photojournalism in Central Europe: on authenticity and ethics

The development of the Internet and digital technology by the end of the twentieth century has raised serious disputes about ethics, authenticity and photo manipulation. These concerns are especially relevant in the field of photojournalism in the news media, where credibility matters the most. In this paper we described the current situation in relation to image authenticity and professional ethics in three countries of Central Europe – the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. We asked research questions regarding photo production, circumstances of photographing, image content, technical improvements, manipulation, ethical standards and responsibility. Our findings reveal a complexity of ethical issues related to working with visual news material. During the fieldwork we conducted 65 in-depth interviews and surveys with full-time and freelance photojournalists and photo editors working for printed and online newspapers and opinion magazines in Central Europe

Czech journalists in the 21st century: who are they?

Who are Czech journalists and what do they do? Based on data from 291 interviews with Czech journalists working in the news media at various levels between 2012 and 2014, for the Worlds of Journalism Study (www.worldsofjournalism.org), the paper introduces for the first time an overview of the most important results of the Czech part of the study. We present an analysis of the data on journalists’ working conditions, the most and least important perceived influences on their work, as well as their level of trust in various institutions, recent significant changes perceived in their profession and the professional roles they prefer. The basic demographic data of our sample is also given. The survey was done in two phases, between which significant media ownership changes took place, making the results highly up-to-date. We conclude that the position of journalists is changing. Journalists are required to write more stories than before, yet have less time to research them. Although they assert the importance of journalistic ethics, they have also perceived that ethical standards have somewhat weakened recently. Nevertheless, they express a high level of autonomy and freedom in their work

New Picture

Topis of this work photography in the digital era. It is focused on problems of photography after digitalization, compares traditional chemical photography with new digital image

Photojournalism in Central Europe: on authenticity and ethics

The development of the Internet and digital technology by the end of the twentieth century has raised serious disputes about ethics, authenticity and photo manipulation. These concerns are especially relevant in the field of photojournalism in the news media, where credibility matters the most. In this paper we described the current situation in relation to image authenticity and professional ethics in three countries of Central Europe – the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. We asked research questions regarding photo production, circumstances of photographing, image content, technical improvements, manipulation, ethical standards and responsibility. Our findings reveal a complexity of ethical issues related to working with visual news material. During the fieldwork we conducted 65 in-depth interviews and surveys with full-time and freelance photojournalists and photo editors working for printed and online newspapers and opinion magazines in Central Europe

Czech Journalists' Refreshed Sense of Ethics in the Midst of Media Ownership Turmoil

In recent years, the Czech Republic has seen the largest changes in media ownership since the early 1990s. Most striking was the purchase of one of the largest publishing houses Mafra by the tycoon Andrej Babiš in June 2013, followed by the takeover of the Czech branch of Ringier by other Czech businessmen later that year. The first case in particular instigated immense discussion about the economic and ethical crisis facing Czech journalism since Babiš is also a powerful political figure (currently the Minister of Finance). In response, a significant number of leading, well-known journalists left media owned by big business and launched projects of quality or "slow" journalism which had until that point been merely discussed theoretically. This paper - based on the results of the Czech part of the Worlds of Journalism Study project - addresses the shift in the ways journalists perceive their roles and ethical responsibilities before and after the 2013 ownership changes. We also present the manner in which these changes are reflected in emerging media projects. It seems that those journalists not affected by the ownership change tend to view journalism ethics and the ability of journalism to exert power more seriously than before. (author's abstract

Migration Coverage in Europe, Russia and the United States

Six years after the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ in 2015, the European Union remains divided on questions of migration and asylum policy. The issue also remains high on the agendas of the USA and Russia, two other key destination countries with immigration from Latin America and the Post-Soviet space. This article presents results from a comparative study of news coverage in 17 countries, focusing on 10 EU member states in Western and Central Eastern Europe (CEE), the USA and Russia. The intensity of coverage was remarkably different, with Hungary’s and Germany’s media standing out while Russian media displayed relatively low levels of coverage. Individual migrants and refugees were most visible in the two outlets from the USA. Media in CEE countries tended towards a more critical approach than media in Western Europe. However, differences between most countries’ pairs of analyzed media outlets indicate a more pluralistic debate than frequently assumed