Bias in photojournalism

 A.

Photo by Ed Clark

B. Going Home by Ed Clark portrays an emotional occasion that deals with honor, sadness, and communal mourning. As everyone listens closely in the background, the picture shows an African American soldier playing the accordion with tears running down his cheeks. The image, which was taken in 1945 following President Franklin D. Roosevelt's passing away, depicts a common grief that crosses over race-based, social, and cultural barriers as the soldier's evident sorrow mirrors the emotions of a nation in mourning. The image, in my view, symbolizes the major impact that leaders can have on the lives of others and the sense of connection that comes with being a component of something greater. The soldier's tears induce compassion for his loss and act as a reminder of the powerful connections that bind us together during moments of national grief and reflection. As Donald Weber's article states, so much of the media is negative and gives us the wrong depictions of what the real world is like. The article pushes how Ukraine was portrayed in the media as "destroyed and engulfed in fire," which was false. The media is quick to push negative stories which can make people feel disconnected from one another.  I believe, like the picture above, the media as a whole should be pushing for better stories rather than using negative photos and words as attention grabbers, in today's climate. We need less division and more unity and unfortunately, I feel as though the media makes those real-life issues much worse. 

C.  

1. The main subject in this photo is the man. He is the center of the photo and when you look at the picture he is the first thing your eyes are drawn to. The background is so out of focus that it is almost blurry to really make sure that the main subject sticks out. 

2. The black and white of the picture adds extra emotion to the picture. While I have written about the effects of black and white photography multiple times, I truly believe that it has a way of capturing a picture's feelings and background so much more. Because of the color being erased, the viewers are able to really focus and give all their attention to the picture rather than the colors. 

3. The photograph used above is the opposite of simple. Inside the photograph, there is so much to see and it is very busy. Items that make the photograph look busy include the man and his instrument, the people in the background, the emotions the crowd is showing, and the building in the background. While the background is cluttered, you can still make out what is being shown. 

D. Image A Truth 

Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt

To me, this photo above represents truth in the media. The picture was taken in 1945 of a soldier and a nurse kissing after the Victory of Japan Day. Many people view Alfred Eisenstaedt's widely recognized picture of a sailor offering a nurse a passionate kiss in Times Square on V-J Day, which celebrates the end of World War II, as a pure exhibit of joy, relief, and celebration. Because it shows a real, spontaneous heartfelt moment rather than a created or manufactured scenario, this image is my symbol of "truth" in the media. The kiss, which conveys the raw emotions of millions of individuals without using words, symbolizes the nation's collective relief at the end of an awful war. Its unedited state illustrates how the media can present complex truths about individual emotions, experiences, and social reactions. Eisenstaedt's ability to document such an authentic, brief moment demonstrates how photojournalism can illustrate universal truths that are hard to convey in words. I also picked this photo because it depicts a positive moment in America's history and it shows that moment positively in the media, which as I stated earlier is rare. Pages like GoodNews Network are used to spread positive stories in the news. The stories that are similar to the ballet dancer saving a man who fell on the subway are rarely put in the news since they are happy stories rather than tragic sad stories. Most of this phenomenon is due to yellow journalism as stated by W. Joseph Campbell. The sad and tragic stories tend to have a more sensational shock factor which attracts more readers and brings in more money to the different companies, therefore leading to more stories in the news being negative.

E. Image B Not Truth 

Photo by Yves Herman 

The picture of the woman being sprayed with tear gas during a protest by Yves Herman can be regarded as an example of "untruthfulness" in the press, not because it shows a falsified event, but rather because of the way that context, viewer understanding, and intentional presentation may create a false narrative. A single moment in time appears in a photograph, often without a bigger picture, which can cause readers to make assumptions that back a particular point of view or purpose. For example, a striking image of women responding to tear gas could cause empathy for the protesters, outrage at law enforcement, or a sense of injustice. However, the image might not tell the full narrative if the facts, the motives of those involved, or the circumstances leading up to that demonstration are not understood. This reminds us of the challenges involved in identifying truth in visual media by emphasizing how pictures, even when they are true to a specific instant, can at times mislead viewers when context fails to appear or is provided selectively. As the photojournalist, Shahidul Alam, says in the YouTube video, "There are multiple truths to every story." I feel as though news stories that do not portray the whole picture and could be trying to gain supporters for a cause without background information are deceiving. As Professor Nordell elaborates in his video, photos showing Republican candidates in a negative light will have more of a chance of being published in a liberal article site. This further proves that each media outlet has its own reasoning and motivation behind what they publish, often for their own benefit. 

F.   Out of the 4 ways of knowing, the one I used was logic and reason. Simply put, I know that there are multiple versions and sides of each story.

G. 

Image A Truth

1. While the use of shadows is minimal in this picture, it is still somewhat there. Most of the shadows that can be seen are those from the buildings since the picture was taken in Time Square. You can tell that it was also somewhat of a gloomy day due to there not being more shadows behind the people photographed. 

2. The photo captures the depth of field in the background. While it is blurry you can see the huge buildings and what looks to be a bridge behind the main subjects. You can also see the crowds of people standing behind the couple but most are just blobs of color or blurriness. 

3. As I said in my description of the picture, there was only a second or two that this picture could have been photographed. The exposure time for this picture was minimal. If you look closely you can see the guy directly between the couple walking. You can tell the guy is mid-step as the picture is taken because of the guy's feet being blurry. 

Image B Not Truth 

1. You can see in the picture this subject's expression is one of disgust and horror. While I do not know the full backstory or how the women got into that situation, I can guess that being sprayed with mace is not a pleasant experience. You can also see the anger on the law enforcement's face. At the end of the day they are doing their job and have orders, the woman cop in the front looks angered, as she probably does not want to be in that situation. 

2. The quality of light in the picture can be seen by the glare that is reflected off the mace being sprayed. While you are looking at the background of the picture you can clearly see that it is bright and sunny outside yet she is wearing a long sleeve and a jacket. The way the light is reflected off the mace shows how bright it is outside. 

3. The rule of thirds also applies to this picture. The woman being sprayed is standing on the complete left side of the picture and the cops are in the center and right side. When looking at this picture there is no main subject necessarily. All of the bigger objects in the picture are equally important.