Jesse James Nazi Photos and Journalistic Integrity

As an freelance web journalist, I am always scouring the Internet looking for topics to write about. I have written about the recent drama with Monster Garage star Jesse James and the allegations of an affair by tattoo model Michelle "Bombshell" McGee. These linger on the line between news of interest and gossip, which is a line I very rarely flirt with in my writing.

As it works, I earn money from page views on Associated Content, as does everyone else who writes for the site. The more page views I get, the more money I make and in the same way - the hotter the topic, the more page views I could receive.

This morning I ran across a story on TMZ that I knew would be a great page view earner for me: TMZ posted a short piece announcing that they would be sharing a photo of Jesse James wearing a Nazi hat and sporting a Nazi "Heil Hitler" salute. TMZ stated they have seen the photo and will be publishing it on their site. The article on TMZ went on to say that "the woman selling the photo told TMZ she didn't actually take the pic -- it belonged to a friend who worked with Jesse and the friend does not know she is selling it."

After a few moments of soul-searching, I decided I did not want to write an article that was focused upon alleged Nazi pictures of Jesse James even though I knew it would garner me a fair amount of page views. Yes, I realize that by even mentioning the TMZ story and the photo, I am "reporting" on it in some way. Bear with me, because this is not at all the article I would have written about the photo.

Why did I decide against such an article? First, the statement that the woman selling the photo didn't take the picture, nor does the picture actually belong to her and the owner of the photo does not know she is selling it reeks of sleaze.

To me, reputable journalism doesn't dredge the sludge pit of skankiness for questionable details and photos. When I was in journalism school, one of the first things I learned was to be objective and unbiased as well as only report facts with credible sources. Perhaps today's journalism classes should borrow from medical school with a rule that says "first, do no harm."

Second, if indeed there is a photo of Jesse James sporting a Nazi hat, does it really matter? It shows poor judgment, sure and very bad taste. Anyone who sees the Nazi Regime and Adolph Hitler as something and someone to be admired and emulated are low-class and damaged in my opinion.

In the United States, people have the right to be low-class and damaged as long as they don't hurt anyone else - even if it means they do something as stupid as wear a Nazi hat. It speaks volumes about their character and if indeed a photo proves that Jesse James is that stupid, then my opinion of him will drop to zero. In the end though, if Jesse James is a neo-Nazi or whatever - I suppose it's his right and his choice. If he isn't and the photo was taken as a joke in poor taste (much like the photo of Olympic snowboarder Scotty Lago ), I don't feel like the low life who is offering this titillating photo should be rewarded with money for a picture they don't even own. Shame on you TMZ!

For me, I have written before about my desire to pursue writing that I love and can be proud of, even if it doesn't garner me lots of page views. I prefer to have my integrity intact and not chase after hot gossip in exchange for a few pennies. My hope is that the lure of quick page views doesn't overtake me and make me forget what I really believe in - honesty, truth and integrity. I guess I'll keep my big butt parked in a lounge chair on the Back Porch of Suckiness - where the page views trickle in - at least I won't have to question my own integrity.

Source:
www.tmz.com/2010/03/21/jesse-james-nazi-salute-photo-michelle-mcgee/