Since the war began March 19, thousands and thousands of images from Iraq have been transmitted to newsrooms all over the world. They represent the work of a tough breed of photojournalists who made the choice to go to Iraq. They face danger to bring images of the war to the people at home.
Photojournalists, including The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Nelvin Cepeda and Earnie Grafton, are there to document events, not to make some images more dramatic than reality. That’s why U.S. journalists are in an uproar after a photographer from the much respected Los Angeles Times transmitted a photo that had been digitally altered.
It was used on the front pages of the Times and the Hartford Courant in Connecticut. The Chicago Tribune also used it prominently. The image was made available to other newspapers, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, which did not use it. It was a stroke of luck, not because anyone knew something was wrong.
So why are journalists at the Union-Tribune and other newspapers in an uproar over the photograph? It’s because they rightfully worry a misstep by one publication jeopardizes the credibility of all.
To its credit, the Times ran a front-page editor’s note to its readers on Wednesday saying that the photo violated the newspaper’s policy that prohibits altering of images and that the photographer had been dismissed. The Courant also ran an editor’s note Wednesday. When reached in the field, the Courant said, the photographer “acknowledged that he had used his computer to combine elements of two photographs, taken moments apart, in order to improve the composition.”
Inside on Wednesday, the Times ran three photos, the two that had been merged and the composite. What gave the alteration away was that some people appeared in the photograph twice. The Courant also ran all three photographs. On Thursday, the Tribune also ran a notice of the bogus photo with its corrections and clarifications.
I suspect most readers would recognize that using technology to alter reality at a time of war is unethical. What some may not realize is that it is never acceptable when it comes to news photos.
Six years ago, I presented readers with a imaginary scenario about a boy hugging his horse after becoming the youngest person in history to win a race at his local track. The problem with the photo was an unzipped fly. Most readers, 67 percent of those who responded, said it was acceptable to use computer technology so the boy would not be embarrassed. Only 20 percent would have used the photo as it was and fewer, 11 percent wouldn’t have used it at all.
But, newspapers are adamant against using altered photographs. “Our policy toward images is simple and straightforward,” said Robert York, the Union-Tribune’s senior editor for visuals. “The pictures we publish in The San Diego Union-Tribune are unaltered and accurately reflect the scope and context of the moment captured in the photograph. The associated captions are also held to the same standard of accuracy and context.
“The newspaper’s biggest asset, bigger than the three-story presses or the rolls of newsprint housed in storage, is its credibility,” York said. “Credibility is what allows us into the lives of our readers each day. Any action that would result in the erosion of that credibility would first and foremost be unethical and a breach of that trust. This breach would quickly translate into financial harm in the organization.
“Nearly all our images are captured digitally these days and, using a computer, we go through a process to prepare them for publication with the intent that the reader will see exactly what the photographer saw no more, no less,” he explained. “In non-news situations, photography has been used effectively as a medium to create illustrations. On those occurrences the image is clearly labeled a ‘photo illustration’ and we are careful to not create something that could be mistaken for a real moment in time.”
For the most part, photo illustrations are used with feature stories. And, even were they not labeled, it would be obvious to the viewer that the image had been manipulated in some way.
But credibility takes a beating when an image is manipulated to fool the viewer. The manipulation could be the work of a computer or a photographer who tells his subjects how to pose so that the image he captures is not an accurate reflection of what took place.
“It’s impossible for a newspaper to prove to readers that each photo is unaltered,” York said. “When the topic comes to the forefront, all we can do is to continue to attest to the veracity of our images, restate our passion for communicating the truth through photography and respond quickly and honestly to any and all questions.”
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Gina Lubrano’s column commenting on the media appears Mondays. It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune to correct all errors. To discuss accuracy or fairness in the news, please write to Gina Lubrano, readers representative, Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or telephone (619) 293-1525. Send e-mail to:
readers.rep@uniontrib.com.
Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
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