And we are back to the evergreen question about credibility. Even though I don't believe in the old teaching that "journalists must be objective," I still believe I can be objective if I set my own standards and stick to them.
If I can help it I do MINIMAL editing on my images- little cropping and maybe lighten them up. Therefore, as a photographer I have a hard life to publish my photos. I strongly believe that the editors should not repurpose a photograph because it is UNETHICAL towards the photographer and his subjects.
This would cause me to lose my head. For instance, if an editor would use one of my pictures out of context like it happened with David Hume Kennerly's photos about Dick Cheney cutting meat at a family dinner. Here is his response to the repurposing of his photos: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/essay-9/
Bottom line, Kennerly went to shoot photos at a family dinner and the editors at Newsweek gave the photos a political connotation.
To me it is like rewriting someone's article totally.
Bottom line, Kennerly went to shoot photos at a family dinner, the subject(s) trusted him. BUT the editors at Newsweek gave the photos a political connotation and the subject may not trust the photographer anymore.
It shocked me more the newspaper's response to Kennerly. I thought I am dreaming after I read the vice president of corporate communications at Newsweek, Frank J. De Maria's statement. After all that's happening in the media industry now, there are media people who think the public and OTHER media people are dumb?
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