How responsible are you for your freelancers’ actions?
I was amazed by the beautiful, detailed photography work that went into this month’s The Atlantic. They ran a photo of John McCain and it’s just incredibly cool what they were able to do with his skin.
It turns out afterwards, however, the photographer who was hired to do that shoot then took those pictures, altered them, and then placed them on her website. This has resulted in the magazine’s editor having to issue an apology to the McCain campaign.
Now there’s no doubt that what this woman did was unprofessional. But it also makes me wonder about the relationship between a freelancer and a publisher; should The Atlantic have to apologize on her behalf?
No, they don’t have to apologize on her behalf.
But I think they are doing the smart thing but expressing outrage at her behavior. It inoculates them from claims of bias on their part.
Sure they have to apologize. They hired her, they reviewed her work and then they published it. The magazine has to live up to consistent standards whether or not she is a freelancer. That being said, I don’t think they need to apologize “on her behalf.”
No need to tamper with McCain’s image, just listening to his BS you can see what an ugly person he is.