Thoughts & Theory – Page 27 – Visual Journalism

January 13, 2013

Gene Patterson has Passed

He was not a photojournalist, though he worked in journalism during what many consider to be the coming of age of our craft. He is not as well known as other civil rights leaders of his time, but his work is of equal importance because it was Gene Patterson, through the bully pulpit of the Atlanta Constitution, brought light to...

Craft/Journalism/Thoughts & Theory

January 10, 2013

Everyone Is Guilty

Michael Zhang at Petapixel has collected a pair of videos about paparazzi and how they harass celebrities when they venture out. It’s despicable how these people act …

Business & Industry/Ethics & Legal/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

January 5, 2013

NPPA, WHNPA Statement on Congressional Photo

The National Press Photographers Association and the White House News Photographers Association have issued a joint statement on the altered photo of the Democratic women of the 113th Congress. At issue is, of course, whether you should ever manipulate a “news” photo. Answer: NO. But there’s a deeper issue here, too, because more and more of these government handout photos...

Business & Industry/Ethics & Legal/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

January 4, 2013

Surprise! This Is A Lie – UPDATE

Yesterday, the women of the Democratic women of the 113th Congress gathered on the steps of the Capital for a photo. Except, not everyone was there. So why not just Photoshop the four missing Representatives in later? Sure, it’s a PR photo. But if you’re going to make it publicly available, it should be disclosed. You can take a look...

Ethics & Legal/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

December 5, 2012

Mocking Instagram

I really don’t have a problem with Instagram. I have a problem with journalists using Instagram to artificially create an emotional connection with a subject. If you want to lo-fi your vacation photos? Have at it. But I’m going to sing along with College Humor’s parody every time I hear a Nickelback song now. Which, gracefully, isn’t often … (FYI,...

Ethics & Legal/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

November 5, 2012

What’s In a Name?

My friend Wasim Ahmad, on the faculty at Stony Brook University, wrote a piece for iMediaEthics about the need for names in photo captions – and this will now be required reading for all of my students. His policy for students is the same as mine – no names, it’s not journalism, it’s not usable. The argument I hear back...

Craft/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

November 2, 2012

After Instagram … Again

Kenneth Jarecke takes another run at the Instagram galleries posted by Time magazine … if you thought a day’s reflecting would have tempered his opinion, think again. This one graf struck me: You can put it in historical, pre-digital terms if you like. If Life Magazine asked Henri Cartier-Bresson to shoot a hurricane with a Brownie, what do you think...

Photojournalism/Tech Talk/Thoughts & Theory

October 31, 2012

Where Are the Great Superstorm Images?

I’ve been asking myself this for the last day, so Kenneth Jarecke’s tirade has some resonance with me. There have been some gems, some great documentary work of what happened and how people reacted to it. But where are the personal stories? Where are the struggles? Where is the journalism? The main part of the storm moved through almost 36...

Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

October 11, 2012

No More Instagraming for College Coaches

Yep, you read that right – the NCAA has told coaches that they cannot use Instagram or other image-editing applications on photos sent to recruits. I kind of love the NCAA right now …

Photojournalism/Tech Talk/Thoughts & Theory

September 9, 2012

Yet Another Media Distraction

Al Tompkins over at the Poynter Institute pointed out something I didn’t catch during coverage of the Republican and Democratic conventions – that reporters have started using digital mic flags. Holy distraction, news consumer. Really? Tickers, bugs, graphics and now a dancing mic flag message? No wonder no one understands the news anymore.

Journalism/Tech Talk/Thoughts & Theory

Category: Thoughts & Theory