Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/04/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Group: Firing is an appropriate action for manipulating a news photo. It was that way back when I was a newspaper photographer in the 1970s, long before Photo Shop and other such software enabled the almost seamless chicanery accessible today. Posing news photos also was taboo and a fire-able offense. In fact, I can cite instances of news photographers who changed jobs and "recycled" some of their feature shots. When caught, they were shown the door -- publicly and loudly. Interestingly, they became pariahs. The few news manipulators/posers I encountered were "redeemable." Go figure. Posing and manipulation are fine for some feature work and pieces clearly labeled as illustration or manipulation. But even feature photography treads a fine line -- especially if portrayed in the accompanying captions or articles as natural. That's wrong and should be a fire-able offense. The media has a responsibility to be accurate -- especially in times like these and with the 24-hour scoop cycle. Think of the times you've seen writing or heard broadcasts citing "unnamed sources," "sources close to," and similar weasel words and thought to yourself, "What a crock." Those words generally reflect lazy reporting or, even worse, pure speculation by reporters and/or editors under the guise of fact. Remember Watergate: It was made clear from the first time Deep Throat was used as a name in print that Woodward and Bernstein had revealead his/her identity to the editorial powers that be. Images presented by the media as news should be subjected to at least the same editorial rigor as words -- maybe even more so -- because their impact. Greg Rubenstein gcr910@msn.com _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html