PHOTOTRUTH OR PHOTOFICTION? Ethics and Media Imagery in the Digital Age Tom Wheeler School of Journalism and Communication University of Oregon LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS 2002 Mahwah, New Jersey London Acquisitions Editor: Linda Bathgate Textbook Marketing Manager: Marisol Kozlovski Editorial Assistant: Karin Bates Cover Design: Kathryn Houghtaling Lacey Textbook Production Manager: Paul Smolenski Full-Service & Composition: UG / GGS Information Services, Inc. Text and Cover Printer: Hamilton Printing Company This book was typeset in 11/13 pt. Times Roman, Bold, and Italic. The heads were typeset in ITC Serif Gothic Bold, ITC Serif Gothic Light, and ITC Serif Gothic Regular. Copyright © 2002 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers 10 Industrial Avenue Mahwah, New Jersey 07430 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wheeler, Tom Phototruth or photofiction? : ethics and media imagery in the digital age / Tom Wheeler. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8058-4261-6 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Photojournalism—moral and ethical aspects. 2. Image processing—Digital techniques—Moral and ethical aspects. 3. Mass media criticism. I. Title. TR820 .W4 2002 174'. 9070—dc21 2002017492 Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability. Printed in the United States of America 10 98765432 For Daniel, Matthew, and Joe, who inspired this book by often asking the same question while watching television: "Hey, Dad, is this real?" This page intentionally left blank Brief Contents I A HISTORY OF "PHOTOTRUTH" 1 1 "A Picture of Reality": Qualified Objectivity in Visual Journalism 3 2 Old-Fashioned Fakery: Photo Manipulation in the Pre-Digital Era 15 II IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW DIGITAL AGE 25 3 The Digital Media Landscape: Liquid Imagery, Shaky Credibility 27 4 The New Threat: Digital Deception and the Loss of Faith 41 5 Rationales and Excuses: Justifying Staged and Manipulated Photos 55 III GROUNDWORK: TOWARD A PROTOCOL 67 6 Ethical Foundations: Doing the Right Thing 69 7 Taking Journalistic Photographs: Traditions and Techniques 79 8 Processing Journalistic Photographs: Keeping It Real 93 9 Publishing Journalistic Photographs: Context and Viewer Preconceptions 101 IV DEVELOPING A PROTOCOL 109 10 The "Nonfiction Photographic Environment": A Range of Implied Authenticity 111 11 Introducing the Reader's "Qualified Expectation of Reality": The Quote Standard 127 12 Previewing the Guidelines for Photo Assessment: Defining "Photofiction" 133 13 Photofiction Tests 1 and 2: The Viewfinder and Nonfiction Photography's Process Tests 141 14 Photofiction Tests 3 and 4: The Technical Credibility and Obvious Implausibility Tests 149 15 The Wording of a Disclosure 163 16 The Prominence of a Disclosure; Test 5: The "Essence of the Image" 171 17 Cosmetic Retouching: Skin Deep? 181 18 Applying the Guidelines: Case Studies 191 19 Journalistic Photography Online: A Possible Future 199 20 A Fragile Fortress of Credibility 205 V This page intentionally left blank Contents Foreword xiii Introduction xvii I A HISTORY OF "PHOTOTRUTH" 1 1 "A Picture of Reality": Qualified Objectivity in Visual Journalism 3 Compelling Reflections 3 "Phototruth": A Kind of Reality 4 To Freeze the Visual Spectacle of the World: Milestones in the Invention of Photography 6 Summary 9 Explorations 11 Endnotes 12 2 Old-Fashioned Fakery: Photo Manipulation in the Pre-Digital Era 15 Concocted Realities at the Dawn of Photography 15 Engravings and Other Artworks 18 Composographs 19 Now You See Him ... 21 "Hillary Clinton Adopts Alien Baby (Official Photo!)" 21 Summary 22 Explorations 22 Endnotes 23 II IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW DIGITAL AGE 25 3 The Digital Media Landscape: Liquid Imagery, Shaky Credibility 27 No Going Back 28 Shifts in Authority 28 Is a Photo "Whatever You Want It to Be"? 29 Changing Assumptions 30 Declining Confidence 33 Beyond Print Media 34 Summary 36 Explorations 37 Endnotes 38 4 The New Threat: Digital Deception and the Loss of Faith 41 Phototruth—A Quaint Concept? 41 Viewer Confusion and Suspicion 42 vii viii Contents Time's O.J. Simpson Cover 43 National Geographic's Relocated Pyramids 44 Improving Upon Nature? 45 Other Examples in News, Sports, Entertainment, and More 46 Subverted Certainties 51 Summary 51 Explorations 52 Endnotes 52 5 Rationales and Excuses: Justifying Staged and Manipulated Photos 55 In Defense 55 Not that Big a Deal 55 Mona Lisa with a Graffiti Mustache 55 Could Have Moved the Camera 56 No One Believes It Anyway 56 In Consideration of Our Readers 56 A Matter of Taste 56 Too Shocking 58 Political Correctness 58 We Play by Different Rules 59 House and Garden, Fact and Fantasy 59 Covers Are Different 60 Close Enough to Reality 61 It Happened 61 It Could Have Happened 61 Summary 63 Explorations 64 Endnotes 65 III GROUNDWORK: TOWARD A PROTOCOL 67 6 Ethical Foundations: Doing the Right Thing 69 The Branches of Philosophy 69 "Ethics" Defined 70 The Ninth Commandment 71 The Golden Rule 71 Aristotle's Golden Mean 71 Kant's Categorical Imperative 72 The Age of Enlightenment 72 John Stuart Mill 73 The First Amendment 73 Competing Considerations 74 The Individual versus the Group 74 Absolutes versus Qualifications 74 Journalistic Ethics 75 Visual Journalism Ethics 76 Manipulated Photography 76 Contents ix Summary 77 Explorations 77 Endnotes 77 7 Taking Journalistic Photographs: Traditions and Techniques 79 Photos that "Mean" What They "Say" 79 The "Moment" 80 When the Shutter Snaps 80 "Soft Feature" Photos: Posing and Staging 81 After the Fact: Hoffman and Cruise 82 Photojournalism and Documentary Photography 83 A Word about Gear 88 Summary 88 Explorations 88 Endnotes 90 8 Processing Journalistic Photographs: Keeping It Real 93 Photographic Content 93 Traditional Techniques 94 Cleaning and Repairing Negatives 94 Cropping 94 Dodging and Burning 96 Color Correction 96 Airbrushing, Cosmetic Touch-Ups 97 Summary 98 Explorations 98 Endnotes 99 9 Publishing Journalistic Photographs: Context and Viewer Preconceptions 101 Private Uses versus Mass Media 101 Photographic Environment 102 Can a Photo Be Unethical? 102 Photo Editing 103 Text and Other Elements 103 Viewer Preconceptions 104 Readers' Awareness of Retouching 105 Summary 105 Explorations 105 Endnotes 107 IV DEVELOPING A PROTOCOL 109 10 The "Nonfiction Photographic Environment": A Range of Implied Authenticity 111 Re-Categorizing Images 112 First of All, What Is a Photograph? 112 Photojournalism: Eyewitness to History 113 X Contents Do We Still Know What Journalism Is? 113 The Disappearing Coke Can 115 Re-Examining the Term "Feature" 115 Beyond "Hard News" 116 The "Nonfiction Photographic Environment": A Proposed Definition 117 Nature Photography 118 Magazine Covers 118 Photojournalistic Book Covers 119 Nonfiction Television 120 The Fashion/Beauty Exclusion 120 Other Exclusions 121 Summary 121 Explorations 122 Endnotes 125 11 Introducing the Reader's "Qualified Expectation of Reality": The Quote Standard 127 Looking Beyond the "Altered Content" Distinction 127 The Quote Standard 128 The Reader's "Qualified Expectation of Reality" 129 Summary 131 Explorations 131 Endnotes 132 12 Previewing the Guidelines for Photo Assessment: Defining "Photofiction" 133 Defining "Post-Exposure Photofiction" 133 Beyond Existing Codes 135 Preview: The Photo-Assessment Tests in Brief 135 A Set of Adaptable Principles 136 Summary 137 Explorations 138 Endnotes 139 13 Photofiction Tests 1 and 2: The Viewfinder and Nonfiction Photography's Process Tests 141 The Viewfinder Test in News Photos 141 But It's Just a Tiny Detail... 141 Beyond "Hard News" 142 Nonfiction Photography's Process Test 143 Adapting the Darkroom Standard in News Contexts 144 Taking the Darkroom Standard Beyond News Contexts 145 Summary 146 Explorations 146 Endnotes 147 Contents xi 14 Photofiction Tests 3 and 4: The Technical Credibility and Obvious Implausibility Tests 149 The Technical Credibility Test 149 Obvious Implausibility: The "Pregnant Bruce Willis" Test 150 Impossible Juxtapositions 154 Failing the Test 155 When Is Fiction Obvious? 156 The Oregon Study 156 Summary 159 Explorations 160 Endnotes 161 15 The Wording of a Disclosure 163 In the Interest of Full Disclosure ... 163 The Elements of Disclosure 165 "Photo-Illustrations" 165 How Much Specificity? 167 Plain Talk and Larger Truths 168 Icons 168 Summary 169 Explorations 169 Endnotes 170 16 The Prominence of a Disclosure Test 5: The "Essence of the Image" 171 Sometimes Fine Print Is Insufficient 171 Tonya and Nancy 171 Implications of Authenticity and the Essence of the Image 173 Visual Speculation 174 Location of Disclosures 175 "Battered Nicole" 176 Priming the Public 177 Summary 177 Explorations 178 Endnotes 179 17 Cosmetic Retouching: Skin Deep? 181 Addressing Cosmetic Retouching—Why Bother? 181 Bad Hair Day 182 But What about the Viewfinder Test? 182 Even News Magazines Do It (Sometimes) 182 Tori Spelling in Details 183 Michelle Pfeiffer in Esquire 183 Demi Moore on the Cover of Rolling Stone 184 Cumulative Effects and Stereotypes 185 If the Text Is Nonfiction, Why Not the Images? 185 One Magazine, Several Standards? 186 xii Contents A Sliding Scale 186 Virtually Impossible Standards 187 Summary 187 Explorations 188 Endnotes 189 18 Applying the Guidelines: