"The Ethics of Visual Rhetoric & Photo Manipulation"

About the Author

Amber McDonnell is a second-year master's student in Auburn University's technical and professional communication program. Her principal academic interests are rhetoric and ethics in new media. Additionally, she teaches English composition as a graduate assistant and enjoys finding ways to incorporate new media in the classroom. When she isn't attending class or teaching, she enjoys taking photos, cooking, and playing with her rescue dog, Eddie.

Contents

Introduction

Methods

Scenario

Scenario (Cont.)

Analysis: Visual Rhetoric

Analysis: Ethical Scope

Analysis: Ethical Theories

Discussion

Conclusion

Works Cited

 The Scenario: The Spill and BP’s Response Efforts

On April 20, 2010, methane gas began to rise in the well of the Deepwater Horizon oilrig in the Gulf of Mexico. The rising gas resulted in an explosion that left seventeen employees injured and another eleven presumed dead after a search was conducted for missing persons. The rig was operated by Transocean, an offshore drilling company, and was under contract by BP. Halliburton Company, an oilfield services company, was also credited with some fault in the disaster (The Telegraph, 2011). The explosion led to the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig and also resulted in a wellhead blowout that allowed an estimated 1,000 barrels of oil to leak from the well per day, as of April 25, 2010 (Beard et al, 2010, p. 44). On May 11 the estimated flow of the leak was 20,000 barrels per day; on June 12 the flow was estimated at 40,000 barrels per day, after a tube began to capture oil from the pipe, capturing an estimated 10,000 barrels per day; in September, the total number of barrels leaked from the well was estimated at 4.4 million (Beard et al, 2010, p. 44). BP made several efforts at containing the oil and sealing the well over the next few months. First, remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) were sent to try to seal the well. When they failed, a containment dome was placed over the well, but it was not successful in containing the leak due to colder water temperatures combined with gas that created methane hydrate crystals that blocked the opening of the dome. A “top kill” method was attempted, where drilling fluid was pumped into the blowout preventer (BOP) that would be sealed with cement. Finally, a damaged BOP was replaced and a relief well was drilled. Cement was used to seal the well and on September 19, 2010, and the well was declared dead (The Telegraph, 2010).

While millions of barrels of oil flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, many agents and stakeholders took part in the response to and relief of the Deepwater Horizon spill. Two of the more prevalent public figures involved with the spill response and relief were BP CEO Tony Hayward and President Barack Obama. As BP continued to “blunder” in the wake of the disaster, President Obama became stricter on offshore drilling policy. On June 2, 2010, Hayward made a “tactless” remark about wanting his life back that went viral in the media and placed increasing pressure on the company to make up for bad press (Hutchison, 2010). Two days after Hayward’s remark went viral, President Obama visited Grand Isle, Louisiana, for a second time. President Obama visited Pensacola, Florida, on June 14 (Beard et al, 2010, p. 44). Just five days after the president’s visit to one of the coastal areas affected by the spill, Hayward reportedly went sailing off the Isle of Wight, triggering outrage from the public as there were no statements made to clarify who was being held responsible for BP’s cleanup efforts (Hutchison, 2010). After continued pressure from the public, Tony Hayward resigned from his position as CEO of BP on July 26, 2010. However, he would not resign before reports of image manipulation involving the company surfaced.

In July 2010, BP admitted to “photoshopping” official photos that they had posted on their website to illustrate efforts to respond to the disaster as well as to ease the public relations stranglehold on the company and its workers (Hough, 2010). BP came under fire from the media, including American bloggers who criticized the quality of the photo manipulation and promoted humorous adaptations from the public. John Aravsois, an attorney and founder of AmericaBlog, is credited for pointing out the flaws in one of BP’s photos, claiming, “Anyone who has ever used Photoshop knows that this is an incredibly amateur job. I can do far better than this, and I tend to play with Photoshop for fun” (The Guardian, 2010). The lackadaisical treatment of the images and, consequently, the publicity of BP’s cleanup efforts were heavily criticized by the media as well. American news outlets condemned the photos, not for being harmful or dangerous, but instead for being “silly” (Korosec, 2010) and “embarrassing” (Rothman, 2010). The nature of the images and the carelessness perceived by the public only added to BP’s list of gaffes in the wake of the disaster.