Johannesburg - The Citizen on Thursday fired photographer Johann Hattingh for bringing it into disrepute.
Hattingh had taken to Twitter two days after the paper published a digitally altered photograph of the aftermath of a suicide bombing attack in Kabul that killed eight SA aircrew and four local Afghans, without informing readers that it had done so.
The decision by the Joburg daily newspaper to alter the picture sourced from AFP and to remove bodies in the foreground sparked a furious outcry in media circles, especially among local press photographers and picture agencies, who claimed the decision was unethical and seriously compromised journalistic integrity.
On Thursday, local media were claiming Hattingh had been fired for blowing the whistle on the scandal, but Citizen editor Martin Williams said nothing could be further from the truth.
“He was dismissed for negative and defamatory comments about the company which he made on Twitter. He wasn’t the first person to speak out about what happened, so by definition he couldn’t have been the whistleblower.
“I respect journalists and photographers who speak out about and safeguard ethics and standards, but what happened here was a case of defaming the company, which led to a total breakdown in the relationship between the employee and the company.”
Williams said the issue over the front-page photograph had led to a series of wide-ranging consequences.
“I dealt with everyone involved in the process. Some of the people were dealt with very harshly, but there wasn’t a case strong enough to justify the dismissal of anyone involved.”
The paper, he said, had established that there wasn’t a decent policy in place to govern the publishing and altering of photographs, and he had instructed the Citizen’s picture editor to research the subject and overhaul the newspaper’s photographic policies.
Hattingh remains unconvinced and deeply saddened by the entire experience. He had only been on the paper’s staff since mid-August, working full-time out of the Joburg office.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do now. It’s left a very bitter taste in my mouth, I don’t even want to pick up my camera.”
The 16-year veteran, who has shot pictures for the UN in Sudan and has done freelance work for agencies in conflict zones such as Iraq, said he had taken to Twitter to express his disgust.
“In this game, you only have your name. It’s taken me 16 years of hard graft to establish my credibility… I was outraged by the fact that there had been a decision at conference the day before and then a picture was published the next day that had been doctored.
“The page was signed off that night by a senior editorial executive, either the editor or the chief sub-editor, if they hadn’t taken the decision, then they agreed with it, by passing the page.
“That decision tainted my credibility and every photographer in the [Citizen’s photographic] department. Everyone was very angry.”
He said he would definitely approach the CCMA on the grounds of unfair dismissal.
Journalists and photographers took to Twitter and Facebook last night, expressing their “disgust”, “outrage” and “bewilderment” at the sacking.
In response to a tweet, Kate Tissington / @katetiss wrote: “Wow, nice way for a newspaper to treat a whistleblower. double standards”.
@superKwazi: “Fired for telling the truth”. #citizen don’t buy.
@shaynerobins: “I will never buy a #Citizen… not that I had been
!
The Star