I certainly haven't followed the details of the case well enough to make any judgements on the outcome of this trial. I did however, find it somewhat compelling how the media chose to cover the news of Knox's acquittal. As pointed out by an article on Poynter, photos of Amanda Knox seemed to pop up on the home page of every major online news source almost instantaneously. Here are a few screen shots that they grabbed from earlier today...
In these three sources, the editors have chosen very different photos of Knox, all of which portray her in very different ways. The one that most stands out to me, is the photo from the Seattle Times - this zoomed-in shot of her eyes is to some extent disturbing and sinister. Just from first glance, it seems to me, to characterize Knox as an emotionless, cold-hearted killer. Meanwhile, the CBS photo appears to do the exact opposite.
I suppose my questions here are: What are the ethical standards for choosing front page photos? Which photos should the newsroom choose to present to the public? Should Amanda Knox be presented in a neutral light?
Perhaps most importantly: Can one photo skew the objectivity of an entire news article?
I'll take a crack at the second question first: Sure. Without too much trouble we can find stories whose photos overpower the words. It's the nature of images. News sites count on the power of images to cut through the fog of competing images from competing publications and "win eyes." Also, I know from personal experience that the first loyalty of photo editors is often to the image more than the words. One hopes the photo editor reads the story. One hopes the photo editor is willing to sacrifice the great picture to serve those words.
ReplyDeleteAs for these pictures, I'm not surprised that TV goes for the image that might not capture the entirety of the moment but has the emotional kick. That's TV's kneejerk response in my somewhat jaundiced opinion. But I don't care for the HuffPost photo because it's just too bland. I immediately question it. Just when was that taken? I think. Unless the caption says: "Amanda Knox at the moment she heard she was free" I don't find this picture useful as news.
And I like the Seattle pix. To me it suggests doubt, inwardness, introspection. If it says something else to you: What a picture!! And we should remember that she's from Seattle (or thereabouts), so you would think the newspaper thought long and hard about what illustration to use.
Ethical bottom line? I don't immediately conclude any of these photos are ethically problematic, though reading the accompanying stories might change my mind. But your raising of the question and finding such contrasting images: super.