[antimedia] antimedia: You'd never know if from the major media sources....

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Posted by antimedia:
You'd never know if from the major media sources....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1155959646.shtml


   ....but [1]photojournalism is in trouble according to David D.
   Perlmutter, writing in Editor & Publisher. Perlmutter ought to know.
   He is "a Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies & Research
   at the University of Kansas' School of Journalism & Mass
   Communications and "author of 'Visions of War, Photojournalism and
   Foreign Policy,' and a book of documentary photography, 'Policing the
   Media.'"
   Perlmutter writes

     The Israeli-Hezbollah war has left many dead bodies, ruined towns,
     and wobbling politicians in its wake, but the media historian of
     the future may also count as one more victim the profession of
     photojournalism. In twenty years of researching and teaching about
     the art and trade and doing photo-documentary work, I have never
     witnessed or heard of such a wave of attacks on the people who take
     news pictures and on the basic premise that nonfiction news photo-
     and videography is possible.
     I'm not sure, however, if the craft I love is being murdered,
     committing suicide, or both.
     Perhaps it would be more reassuring if the enemy at the gates was a
     familiar oneâpoliticians, or maybe radio talk show hosts. But the
     photojournalist standing on the crumbling ramparts of her once
     proud citadel now sees the vandal army charging for the sack led by
     âzombietime,â âThe Jawa Report,â âPowerline,â âLittle Green
     Footballs,â âconfederateyankee,â and many others.
     In each case, these bloggers have engaged in the kind of probing,
     contextual, fact-based (if occasionally speculative) media
     criticism I have always asked of my students. And the results have
     been devastating: news photos and video shown to be miscaptioned,
     radically altered, or staged (and worse, re-staged) for the camera.
     Surely âgreen helmet guy,â âdouble smoke,â âthe missiles that were
     actually flares,â âthe wedding mannequin from nowhere,â the
     âmagical burning Koran,â the âlittle girl who actually fell off a
     swingâ and âkeep filming!â will now enter the pantheon of shame of
     photojournalism.

   But will they really? The media seems to think that they can weather
   the storm simply by ignoring its fury. What little coverage there has
   been of the controversy has been arrogant defensiveness and blatant
   promotionalism. To my knowledge, not one major media outlet has
   approached the story objectively, not to mention critically.
   So, while Perlmutter may be right in the end, change must first take
   place within the media before the flaws will even be acknowledged,
   much less addressed. Perhaps his article in E & P is a good first
   step.
   My good friend Bruce Kesler [2]wrote about Perlmutter's article
   earlier today.

References

   1. http://editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/shoptalk_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003019475&imw=Y
   2. http://www.democracy-project.com/archives/002739.html