We spend time learning WHAT media workers do, but it's just as important to think about HOW they do it and WHY they do it. Let's get some ideas percolating about what we see and how it affects us. I call it "Sunrise on Media" because I often arrive at work obscenely early and will update this blog then.
I'm going cross-blog here for an interesting note on ethics in photo editing. Check out this post from my advanced class. What do you think of the choices made here? Which photo is the one you would run if you were in charge?
Posted by
Katy Culver
at
8:35 PM
Labels: crime, media ethics, photography
3 comments:
There are good things and bad things about running either photo here.
Obviously the professional publicity mug is
1) old
2) confusing because it could look like a columnist mugshot that would go along with a column they wrote
but the police mug shot
1) is very unflattering and
2) because this is a suicide, this is clearly from another criminal incident which is not necessarily related
It's funny how each picture "fits" the text depiction. In that way each choice was appropriate. It's too bad these are the only two photos, I would probably try to find another option. If I couldn't, I would use the pro publicity mug because it is
1) higher quality
2) not as demeaning to the deceased.
I would probably run both photos, if the mug shot seemed to apply to the story. Like, if she was facing serious charges which may have led her to suicide. I think having both pictures would give a visual idea of how her life had become difficult. But, if not both I would stick with the publicity photo. It is more flattering and readers would recognize her more easily.
I would run the professional photo. Running a photo for this story, I think, is about showing who the person was so people know who the article is talking about.
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