Westminster Research http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/westminsterresearch Picturing the World's news: news photography, cultural production, Thomson Reuters and the international process of news making Jonathan Ilan School of Media, Arts and Design This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2012. This is an exact reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e- mail [email protected] Picturing the World’s News: News Photography, Cultural Production, Thomson Reuters and the International Process of News Making Jonathan Ilan A thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Westminster for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy February 2012 Abstract In this research the production process of news pictures at Thomson Reuters international multimedia news agency is examined along its ‘local’ and ‘international’ key moments and sites, and the career of Reuters photographs- from the moment they are conceived as ideas to their purchase- is followed and explored at the ways that at every stage they are used, chosen, sold and processed as 'Reuters' products. Based on an extensive fieldwork that includes participant observations in the field, the Jerusalem bureau and the global pictures desk in Israel, Singapore and the UK, in- depth interviews with significant Reuters pictures professionals and observations conducted at the Guardian’s pictures desk in London, the findings in this project point to a wide cultural production infrastructure hidden from- and yet also nurtured by- the consumer's eye. From the camera's lens to the daily work of the photographer, the editor, the producer, the chief of the department, administrators, graphic designers, sales and marketing, the international news agency, the different news outlets, different media and other organizations and their audiences, who are all responsible for the representation of one reality and the production of another. Focusing an ethnographic eye on the production processes of news pictures at Thomson Reuters, and drawing from cultural studies and approaches of the political economy of communication, this is an attempt to uncover what news is in its photographic form, and the ways that such unique process of production illustrates the overall production of newsworthiness. To Lee and Danielle iv Contents List of pictures and appendices vi Acknowledgements viii Declaration of authorship xi List of abbreviations xii Chapter 1: Introduction 13 1.1 Reutersgate 13 1.2 Methodology 21 1.2.1 Limitations 25 1.2.2 Ethnography for some, a problem for others 28 Chapter 2: Literature review 36 2.1 Political economy from below or cultural studies from above? 36 2.2 Commercial photography production 45 2.3 News production 64 2.4 The production of culture perspective and beyond 71 2.5 Media institutions and the organization of cultural production 74 2.6 Cultural production and the industry 81 2.7 Producing news pictures, making news 88 Chapter 3: The wire and the empire 93 3.1 The ‘Big four’ in a small world: An introduction 94 3.1.1 New media, old rivalries 101 3.2 Is Reuters on top of the world? 105 3.3 The story of the Reuters picture service 114 3.3.1 A ‘strong start’ and the ‘best of both worlds’ 115 3.3.2 Getting ready for launch and plans on going digital 124 3.3.3 Straight into the cold waters of competition 127 3.3.4 Trying to connect all loose ends and turning digital 134 3.3.5 Same game, different settings - and what is yet to come 141 3.4 Conclusion 144 v Chapter 4: The production process I: From story to product 145 4.1 A note on Reuters pictures production and how this works 146 4.2 The Story 150 4.3 The Photography 161 4.3.1 The tools 165 4.3.2 Fieldwork 172 4.3.3 A final touch before takeoff 179 4.4 The Product 188 4.4.1 The office 193 4.5 Conclusion 199 Chapter 5: The production process II: From product to story 201 5.1 Final stop (I) The Global pictures desk in Singapore and sales 201 5.2 Final stop (II) The client’s end, the case of The Guardian 269 5.3 The International desk: How well did we do? 290 5.4 Conclusion 298 Chapter 6: An analysis of significant events and their coverage 299 7.1 First event: Israeli artillery base, November 2005 301 7.2 Second event: Bombing near TulKarem, December 2005 317 7.3 Third event: The funeral of an Israeli officer, December 2005 337 7.4 Fourth event: Carrots picking near Nahal Oz, November 2005 350 Conclusion 366 Appendices 370 Appendix 1.0: Reuters editorial pictures by country, 2010 371 Appendix 2.0: Selected words and expressions 372 Bibliography 374 Additional sources and websites 389 vi List of pictures and appendices Chapter 1: Adnan Hajj’s altered picture, Beirut 2006 13 Chapter 3: Reuters picture network, January 1st 1985 120 Reuters electronic picture desk (EPD), 1985 121 Reuters news picture terminal (RNPT), 1987 133 Reuters price summary for subscribers, May 1991 138 Reuters total number of picture images monthly, 2007 143 Chapter 4: Some roads are not passable with normal domestic cars, Israel 2005 170 Photographers at work I, Israel 2006 173 Phil Collins in Israel, Gil Cohen Magen, Israel 2005 174 Agencies photographers sending pictures together, Israel 2006 187 Photographers at work II, Israel 2006 190 Chapter 5: Reuters pictures regional network, 2010 202 Global pictures desk, Singapore 2010 204 The ‘Japanese Phone’, Singapore 2010 206 A doctored picture received by the global desk, Singapore 2010 212 More doctored pictures received by the global desk, Singapore 2010 213 Reuters pictures templates 220 Editors at work, Singapore 2010 220 Keyword entry, protestors in Sweden, Singapore 2010 244 Keywords commandments, Singapore 2010 249 From a picture to a graphic design, Singapore 2010 254 Gizmoz from the Guardian, London, 2011 277 vii Visual design plan, The Guardian, London 2010 284 Reuters pictures production cycle 297 Chapter 6: Israeli soldiers pulling a cleaning rod through a cannon's barrel, Israel 03/11/05 314 A cannon firing in Nahal OZ, Israel 03/11/05 316 Israeli soldiers picking body parts near the city of Tulkarem, Israel 29/12/06 324 Israeli soldiers picking body parts near the Philadelphi route (Barkai Wolfson) Israel 13/05/04 328 Israeli soldiers picking body parts 2004, 2006 330 Front page, Herald Tribune, 30/12/2006 334 The funeral of an IDF officer, Israel 30/12/2006 345 Carrots picking near Nahal Oz, Israel 11/05/06 360 viii Acknowledgements This project would simply not have been possible were it not for so many people at Reuters who granted me access to their work environments and shared with me their daily routines. I wish to thank Matthew Tostevin who gave me a green light to begin my observations in Israel. I am thankful to Oleg Popov, who approved having me around at the Jerusalem pictures department and allowed me to accompany one of his photographers, and to Dylan Martinez who allowed me to spend time at the London pictures desk as well. Tom Szlukovenyi was very supportive in allowing me to spend some time on the global pictures desk, as was Paul Barker, and Petar Kujundzic was extremely cooperative and shared valuable information. I owe a debt to John Entwisle who granted me access to the Reuters archive. Yann Tessier and Julian Rake gave me a few ideas over dinners, and Luke Baker and Guy Desmond helped out with access as well. I am grateful to all the photographers, editors, sub-editors, senior sub editors, editors in charge, administrators, graphic designers and chief photographers for their cooperation, willingness to help and patience. They took the time to answer my endless questions during their working hours and beyond: to Sharon Perry and Shelly Alish from the pictures department in Jerusalem; to John Voos and Dylan Martinez from the pictures department in London; to Angie Tan, Candida Ng, Chon Chern Kerk, David Loh, Drew Fritz, Jacinta Goh, Saudah Suyat, Shahida Ariff, Joachim Herrmann, Pablo Sanches Quiza and Sim Wei Yang from the global pictures desk in Singapore; to Dennis Owen from the magazine desk in Singapore; to John Goh from ix the keyword team in Singapore; to Hwei Wen Foo from the global graphics desk in Singapore; to Jonathan Bainbridge and Simon Newman from the international desk in London; to Andreas Gans from sales, and to Mitch Kopelman and Steve Crisp for their time and effort. I also wish to thank Roger Tooth who gave me access to the Guardian's pictures operation and shared a lot of information with me as did Sarah Gilbert, Lisa Foreman, Helen Healy and Jonathan Casson. In particular, I wish to thank my dear friend Gil Cohen Magen, whose rare honesty, clear voice and open heart sparked my imagination during a conversation at a Reuters event in 2004- where this project began- and made the whole thing possible.