subject fatigue, editors and the existence in between

[Tipton]

it's not the subject, it's how you do it. a lot of the big editors don't care about an upright journalistic report as much as they care about a dramatic picture. over and over and over again.

Exactly. Sometimes it's hard to get a dramatic frame during those times before the event I suppose, at least one's that will be published front and center. Like an election, even important ones, a dramatic photo isn't exactly easy to make when people are just standing in a line, or in a booth etc., even if you shoot it in a unique way. The effect of that election could lead to drama though, where dramatic frames are easier to make over an over, and we all see over and over and over, and don't even need words.

 

[Roger Hicks]

All journalism is to some extent entertainment. In any reasonably free country, the basic facts are available in countless media. Which medium do you then support? The best? (Define 'best'.) The cheapest? The most sensational? The most easily obtainable? And if it's 'free', who is actually paying for it? What's their agenda? The only news magazine to which I subscribe (and which I believe gives a lot of the 'news behind the news') is the satirical magazine Private Eye: http://www.private-eye.co.uk/

Cheers,

R.

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

Exactly. Sometimes it's hard to get a dramatic frame during those times before the event I suppose, at least one's that will be published front and center. Like an election, even important ones, a dramatic photo isn't exactly easy to make when people are just standing in a line, or in a booth etc., even if you shoot it in a unique way. The effect of that election could lead to drama though, where dramatic frames are easier to make over an over, and we all see over and over and over, and don't even need words.

yes. on a side note - most 'mainstream' photojournalists aren't trained to take subtle but worthy or even deep / meaningful pictures. they are conditioned on spectacular 24mm wideangle shots (as an example) like pavlov dogs. advanced photographic skills aren't the most important attribute for people working in that sphere, and those who have them rarely get the opportunity to bring them to paper.

 

[Tipton]

yes. on a side note - most 'mainstream' photojournalists aren't trained to take subtle but worthy or even deep / meaningful pictures. they are conditioned on spectacular 24mm wideangle shots (as an example) like pavlov dogs. advanced photographic skills aren't the most important attribute for people working in that sphere, and those who have them rarely get the opportunity to bring them to paper.

Which is sad. Just because it's reportage, doesn't mean it can't be an art, and those deeper images should get attention. I'd rather see 10 of those, then 100 "in your face" frames.

 

[retnull]

Another angle to consider: people around the world have come to understand the power of media. Warfare continues with guns and bullets, but now it's understood that images are powerful weapons. A successful battle can have less effect than a successful photo-op.

Some examples: the toppling of the statue of Sadam Hussein (the creation of this image was recently dissected in the New Yorker magazine). Or even: September 11, 2001. (Please! I am not trivializing the deaths of 3,000 people -- only pointing out that the act was planned with consideration towards how it would look.)

 

[jan normandale]

"This to me looks like a truly reactionary idea."

Well, there is nothing I can do from my small town in Texas to fix the problems in Egypt. Egypt certainly hasn't asked for my help.

But if I watch the 24/7 coverage on CNN, I can grow more & more angry, and perceive the world as an increasingly dangerous place, while there are pressing needs in the small town where I live. Better to spend my emotional and physical energy where I can effect change than to watch and worry over events and in places where I can't.

I've always been a news junkie, but I'm recovering quickly from that addiction.

I agree whole heartedly. I would rather do something for a local food bank or the libraries or schools. Their tax dollars are inadequate and these are things that everyone of all levels receive benefits from. I really wonder how many people are bailing from continual looping of the same news with a different anchor or a new teaser but the same story. The business models and the people responsible for them are missing the moment.

@ JSU... to be fair the journals you listed , Atlantic, NYT, Nation are hardly 'mainstream media', they are excellent journals but they are not ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox , Gannett, Knight Ridder, Sun Times Media and Tribune papers. These are the top of the TV and print news media groups. These are the ones shaping news and determining news. Atlantic and Nation combined don't run in a year what any one of these chains can run in a week. "They are the news"

 

[filmfan]

Check out foto8.com for non mainstream photo stories.

EDIT: woops, I am late with that suggestion