ME calls out photog in print: good call or bad?

Wait ... The way I'm reading it is he showed them the pic on the display screen.
I don't have a problem with that.
If he took out a memory card and gave them files, that's a whole other ballgame.

 

He's still not doing his job.

As a photographer or reporter covering an event, your job is to be a neutral observer and not get involved in the story in any way, shape or form. When this guy showed the cops the photos, it led to arrests of people who would not have been arrested otherwise, which changed the story.

To me, this is no different than giving up your source's name to the police when you receive information based on the condition of anonymity.

If you work at a newspaper, you are supposed to be an objective onlooker of life's events. Helping the police, as much as it is the right thing to do in the real world, creates a serious conflict of interest ethics-wise.

Plus, you know the code. No snitchin'!

(FWIW, I think this was a simple lapse of judgment and the guy shouldn't get fired but I could understand it if he did).