|
Best news photographs force difficult decisions
|
Strong photographs invariably make us think. Or cry. Or both.
Advocate photojournalist T.C. Baker came back to the newsroom late Wednesday afternoon with a powerful image of a body being pulled from the Guadalupe River. To see the photo and story, click here.
We discussed at length what photo to use from the scene and ultimately agreed this particular image told the sad story in a respectful way. Photo decisions, though, are never easy and always open to second-guessing.
I appreciated hearing your views after we published a controversial photograph in December. What do you think about this decision? No reader called to complain about the photo, which appeared on B1.
Editors routinely face similar decisions when photojournalists are on top of the news. I thought about this when another editor Tweeted about a stunning photograph on the front page of the Detroit News. To see the disturbing image of a homeless man found frozen in a sheet of ice, click here.
What if we found a similarly unsettling image during today's homeless count in Victoria? What would the reaction be if the image appeared on the Advocate's front page?
Print- •
-
Share
- Share this item
-
Grab the link
Copy and paste the link:
- Blog about it
- Close
- •
-
5 Comments
- •
-
Flag
-
Thank you for your contribution.Flag this as inappropriate
- Close
-
- •
Follow ChrisCobler
Comments
In so many ways we insulate ourselves, in our neighborhoods, our schools, even in our own minds. That is why graphic images are difficult to view, they force us to look at a reality without a buffer. I have often been puzzled as to why the story of a drowning on the front page will not draw criticism, but the image will.
January 31, 2009 at 2:46 p.m.The "a controversial photograph in December" causes the viewer to ponder their own mortality. Most of us don't want to be in that place. When I viewed the image however, I saw one human taking care of another, and that was good to see. It is a very intimate moment. I wonder if the reader who complained about the photo might be a little afraid. I would be. No one wants to be that vulnerable.
As a photographer I have been in these discussions about what is appropriate. They are difficult decisions. It is inevitable some people will be upset. If we are thoughtful, and respectful over time the majority of our readership, while they may disagree, will respect our dedication to telling a story.
The Detroit photo was gruesome! Too much for the front page of a local paper. Though it is real life, the general public doesn't need to see it up close & personal with their eggs & coffee.
January 30, 2009 at 5:19 p.m.Thanks for the feedback. Any thoughts on the Detroit photo?
January 30, 2009 at 4:18 p.m.Absolutely no problem...what is so "graphic" about that photo? Sometimes I think a lot of the problems we have today are related to being too "politically correct".....bad things happen....horrible things happen....but somehow people would rather just not know about these things and live in a fairy tale land. Perhaps if the horror of the things that happen was put out there more, people would get more involved in stopping these horrible things.
January 30, 2009 at 9:17 a.m.Good story and photo, don't see anything to complain about here.
January 29, 2009 at 11:27 p.m.