Controls for filming funerals in video coverage and publishing them on websites and social media- A study of the communicator, and a proposed vision for an ethical code of conduct

The study aimed to develop a proposed vision for ethical controls in photographic coverage of funerals, and their publication on websites and social networking sites, during the period from 1,May 2023 AD to 1, September 2023 AD, by applying it to a sample. From 60 media professionals, including photographers, experts and university professors. The results concluded with:
- The responsibility for establishing an ethical code of conduct in covering funerals and publishing their photos on websites falls on the Journalists Syndicate in first place with a rate of (80.3%), followed by state agencies, the Photographers Division, then websites, and media colleges. This achieves self-regulation for journalists and prevents interference in their affairs.
- Priority in covering funerals goes to the experienced photographer who has taken courses in such a matter, regardless of whether he is a unionist or non-unionist, as he came in first place with a percentage of (44.7%), followed in second place by the union photographer with a percentage of (38.2%), which confirms It is necessary to emphasize the selection of qualified and trained people in covering funerals.
- The category of those opposed to covering funerals and publishing their photos on websites came in first place with a percentage of (67.1%) and that the reasons for the opposition were: that it violates the sanctity of the dead and violates the privacy of their families, and that photography is not commensurate with the prestige and majesty of death, and makes funeral participants fake situations. In addition, it is not compatible with the values ​​and customs of society, as well as causing embarrassment to the mourners and to the photographers themselves while they are filming. While the category of supporters of photography came in second place with a percentage of (23.9%), the reasons for their support were summarized as being that: it records facts that will become important history in the future, and it fulfills The public's needs for knowledge and following events, in addition to providing lessons and lessons from life, and making the photographer and his website more present and ahead of the followers (check the trend).
- Photographers must respond to the wishes of the dead person’s family and respect their privacy by stopping photography if requested, so it came in first place with a percentage of (52.6%), followed by assessing their psychological state by completing photography from a distance in second place with a percentage of (42.1%).
- Photography angles are determined based on the photographer’s assessment of the situation, so his determination of the distance from which he takes the picture, as well as his choice of the shot, are based on his estimate of the situation (87.5%).
- If the trainee photographer covers funerals, and the website publishes his photos that do not comply with the values ​​of society and the norms of the profession, then the one who bears responsibility for publication is the website he works for in first place due to its negligence in field training and follow-up publication, where it achieved a percentage of (77.6%), followed by the union for not putting it in place. Rules that define the nature of his work and explain his rights and duties came at a rate of (46.0%), then the photographer himself at a rate of (34.4%). The trainee is responsible for holding accountable the location in which he works, the general law of the state, then his original body represented by his institute or college, and this is due to the fact that his college sent him For practical training, he became available to the site where he worked since his arrival there.
- The respondents’ proposals to control coverage of funerals and publish their photos on websites focused on the importance of remote photography in a way that expresses the event and does not violate the sanctity of the dead and the privacy of their relatives. Its percentage came in (53.9%), followed in second place by: establishing internal self-regulation by establishing a code or guide from the Journalists Syndicate or The location in which he works; It came at a rate of (42.1%), followed in third place by: asking permission from those concerned and deleting photos when they ask to do so, and it came in a rate of (36.8%). Then it came in fourth place: specifying places for photography, such as what happens at matches and the funerals of politicians, and it came at a rate of (35.5%), followed by In fifth place: The state established a special law that entails judicial penalties if its rules are violated, with a percentage of (27.6%) Then it came in sixth place: leaving it to the readers and opening comments to express their feelings regarding the published content, so it was at a rate of (7.9%), and then in last place was another with a rate of (3.9%). The most important content was not allowing photography from the beginning, as well as preventing live broadcasting, and not stalking. Celebrities.
- The respondents saw that photographing the dead and their bodies comes in the priority of ethical violations at a rate of (42.1%), followed by provoking relatives of the dead to make them lose their feelings and taking provocative pictures of them and publishing them at a rate of (53.5%), followed by continuing to photograph despite the families’ request to stop at a rate of (34.2%), and then publishing headlines. Exciting and unrelated to the content (31.6%), as well as changing the details of images by cropping, deleting or zooming (28.9%)