Everyone has a camera near. We look at each other’s pictures online freely. As a journalism student, my homework has been to photograph people I’ve never met before.
But for the party attendee, the obsessive Instagramer and the journalism major at Fairfield, the pictures have always seemed justified.
Just yesterday, anyone near a copy of the New York Post felt the dread of when technology’s ease and abundance is not justified.
To start: It is not the capturing of the image featured that I find disturbing. This is a picture of reality. Whether the masses see it or not, there are still undoubtedly many people close to the victim that will consider this a major part of their lives.
Surely the victim would find this image immensely important to whatever message he might have.
On campus I once photographed unfolding peril.
I was a sophomore. My photojournalism homework? Take a number of pictures that tell the story of an event on campus. The assignment was due the next day and I was one photo short.
The residence hall next to me experienced a disturbance and an ambulance was called to restrain a student. Police cars lined the building’s flank as well.
Perfect! A shot for my homework. I kept a distance, and began to capture the volume of emergency response vehicles, lights flashing, in front of this building.
Girls from a window in my own building started shouting down at me. They called names, told me to get a life – all in the defense of a kid being taken away at a distance that was clearly too great for my little Sony handheld to handle. I took a few wide shots and went back inside, seething, knowing how ignorant those callers were and how much of an idiot gawker I looked to them.
My RA received a complaint from the callers and he asked that I delete the photos. I refused and completed the assignment. My professor understood because of what comes after a journalist takes a photo.
Going on: It is not the Post’s use of the image that disturbs me. For the sake of us all, it is the role of a witness to testify. Journalist or not, there are realities in this world good and bad that all people could use to learn from.
Less people will stand at the edge of Subway platforms today.
Finally: The New York Post is wrong in deciding to present this story in the way that it did specifically because of the elements used in conjunction with the picture. For the reasons mentioned earlier, this picture is powerful and it walks an ethical line, but still should be exposed. The use of the picture with boldfaced ‘DOOMED’ is redundant to the point where a very difficult subject is simplified to the point where the presentation could be interpreted to suggest dark entertainment.
A critic could say that to put the image on the front page is to advertise the possession of the picture by the paper, with the subject taking a back seat.
Putting a teaser saying “Last seconds captured by freelance photographer, Page 6,” on a cover with a different picture would be more tasteful while still employing the market value of this rare shot.
It is the norm to export intimate moments today for many. This norm brings with it the problem of what could be called ‘over-communication.’ That is, with a package such as this one, or even of a person’s Thanksgiving meal on Facebook or my picture of the emergency responders on campus, the framework can skew the intended message.
It could’ve looked like I was just trying to pry and get gossip.
The Thanksgiving meal picture could look like an indicator of how perfect the photographer thinks their dining room looks rather than how grateful they are for family.
The Post cover most definitely passes for a show of drama more than anything else.
Even as a beginner journalist, I know what the Post is going for, but the entire package compounded is too blunt to be respected. I know this is your style New York Post, but today it has gotten you more disdain than gratitude. This shouldn’t be a surprise.
Leave a Reply