Truth Under Pressure
As technology accelerates and public trust in media continues to shift, ethical decisions have become both more complex and more consequential. This panel brings together working professionals to examine the challenges shaping photojournalism today — from AI tools and image integrity to social media pressure, newsroom economics, and access limitations.
Through real-world examples and conversation, moderated by NPPA Ethics Committee chair Sean Elliot, panelists will explore how photographers safeguard credibility, maintain transparency, and make principled decisions in an industry where the stakes are high and the pace is relentless.
Speakers
Sean D. Elliot
Sean has been the chair of the NPPA’s Ethics Committee since 2015. He began serving on the committee as a liaison from the NPPA’s board of directors in 2004, as part of the association’s update of its industry-leading code of ethics. Sean served a decade on the NPPA’s Executive Committee, including two terms as National Secretary and two as President. Following a 30-year career at The Day newspaper in New London, Conn., he now works as the marketing and communications photographer at Connecticut College. Sean is also co-chair of The Clips, NPPA’s regional, monthly, still photojournalism competition.
Gina Gayle, Ph.D.
Gina Gayle, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of the Practice-Multimedia Journalism
College of Communication- Boston University
Dr. Gina Gayle is a photojournalist, educator, and researcher with research interests in media credibility, innovation, new technologies, the future of photojournalism, and media entrepreneurship using traditional research methods along with ethnography, experimental research methods, Q Methodology.
Her professional work has taken her across the United States as well as to Cuba and Italy while previously working in New York City with clients including numerous new organizations, papers, and magazines.
Dr. Gayle received recognition for her work with awards and fellowships including the Hearst Newspaper Journalism Fellowship and the NABJ Gulf Coast Fellowship allowing her to continue working on personal projects such as her New Orleans Zulu project, about the recovery of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Other projects include the Picture Me project, telling the stories of children in foster care waiting for their forever families in Mississippi, The Black on Black Love Project, and the one closest to her heart, the autoethnographic and multimedia project that involves the photography collection of her late father, Mr. James F. Gayle, the first Black photographer at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Victor Hernandez
Victor Hernandez is WBUR’s Chief Content Officer, directing the outlet’s editorial vision across local and national news, podcasts, programming and live events helping drive audience growth, innovation and deeper community engagement to sustain local journalism amid shifting technologies. He joined WBUR from Cascade Public Media and previously held editorial leadership roles at CNN, NBC broadcast stations in California and at a digital media startup focused on newsroom transformation. He holds a bachelor’s in mass communication and journalism from California State University, Fresno and a master’s in media solutions and innovation from West Virginia University. He lives just west of Boston with his family, where they’re learning to navigate harsh New England winters, lobster rolls and the region’s hyper-passionate sports fandom.
Heesoo Jang, Ph.D.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Heesoo Jang, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Media Law and Ethics in the department of Journalism, University of Massachusetts Amherst. She studies AI systems and platform power, examining their implications for journalism, media, and democracy. Her work also explores how powerful actors—media organizations, institutions, and governments—can better support the public’s relationship with technology.