Orthodox Jewish paper apologises for Hillary Clinton deletion.

(Source: theguardian.co.uk)

The above photo shows you a picture by the New York paper Di Tzeitung in the White House situation room where Obama and his national security team are gathered around a table monitoring the Bin Laden raid.

Now look at this photo below.

(Source: theguardian.co.uk)

As seen in the first picture Hillary Clinton and Audrey Tomason have been removed. 

The newspaper provided an apology, saying that the photo editor did not read the fine print about how the White House forbids any changes in their photographs. However the newspaper states that they have to abide to their editorial policy of not publishing women's images. As majority of the readers from Brooklyn are Orthodox Jewish who believes that women need to be recognized through their skills rather than showing how they look like. The beliefs of the Orthodox Jewish have cause controversy among the others. As not all readers are Jewish, one might not be able to understand the reason of the altered image.

Although it is the newspaper’s editorial policy for not publishing a women’s image but by altering the picture might not be suitable. As mention by Meltzer (1997) ‘even positive intent could lead to distortion.’ The editor should have gone through the fine print before the picture was release. Even if the photo is being altered, the newspaper should at least state below and let their readers know that the photo have been altered. The code ethnics of National Press Photograph Association (2011) mentions that ‘as photojournalists, we have the responsibility to document society and to preserve its images as a matter of historical record.’

A photo in a newspaper or magazine, usually lead readers to an idea on what the article is about. It is the main reason why editors place pictures in their article, to give readers an image on what is going on. Last but not least, the editors should definitely place a clause under the photos that it is edited in order for their readers to understand. With the clause or caption under the photo, the readers will have in mind that the photo is being edited due to the reason given. In addition, the original message of the photo will be delivered to the readers. Thus, the photojournalism must take responsibility for their editing style. 

 

Click here for the original article of Orthodox Jewish paper apologises for Hillary Clinton deletion.

References:

Meltzer 1997, Digital Photography, viewed on 4^th November, <http://www.fno.org/may97/digital.html>.

National Press Photograph Association 2011, NPPA Code of Ethics, viewed on 4^th November, <http://www.nppa.org/professional_development/business_practices/digitalethics.html>.

The Guardian 2011, Orthodox Jewish paper apologises for Hillary Clinton deletion, viewed on 4^th November, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/10/jewish-paper-apologises-hillary-clinton>.