I feel that I am more than qualified to talk in this thread- last year whilst I was studying post-graduate journalism, one of my subjects was journalism ethics and I did my major assignment on the ethics displayed in photojournalism from around the world. I mainly chose this topic, because last year one just could not escape the war and it appeared to me that the codes of ethics, that are very loosely applied to journalism around the world, generally dont pertain to images, unless it is relating to photo manipulation.
Seriously Pearl, ethics are just as much not an issue in America as they are in any other western country. All countries have set 'codes' of ethics or conduct, however there is not one country where these 'codes' are accountable, therefore, such as Australia, we have a code of ethics that is a twelve point set of instructions on how to be a good journalist however if one breaks one of the codes, which constantly happens, well there is no slap on the hand or repercussions as the codes are not accountable and this is the case the world over. If a lawyer acts outside the law, they can be dis-barred, a bad doctor can be banned from practising, however a journalist can still keep on writing, even if they break one of the codes that are supposed to govern how they perform their tasks.
All media the world over manipulate what they publish and this is the case in America, I could show you some pretty gruesome images that I came across last year, in the mainstream American media, that easily show that all countries dont display just ethics (IMHO) when it comes to showing disturbing images in mainstream media. I do believe that the American media is very much driven by the political status quo and therefore many images support their rhetoric and actions..........for example, last year the most disturbing image that I came across was in the American edition of Time magazine which displayed a colour photograph of a dead Kurdish woman and her baby, the image was not pretty, it was disgusting and showed absolutely no respect to the dead woman and child, however the journalist of the justified the placement of the image in the article as it exemplified why the war on Iraq was just, as if the war was not waged on Hussein, well then he just might continue killing innocents, such as the poor Kurdish woman and child. Of course the essence of the article was just and it was a fair argument, but did a dead woman and child, who were depicted in a gruesome image have to be exploited, un-ethically in order to get an oppinion across?????
so I guess Pearl, what I am trying to say is that America is just as un-ethical as the rest of the world, they are not holier than thou when it comes to media and journalism ethics and if you would like any more information, from someone who has studied this and is not American, then just ask aways...