“In the "photo opportunity," […] an event is created for the specific purpose of being represented in a media image, to be consumed by viewers as reality.” (Gramson 387) This essay will explain how a mass society formerly enchanted by photojournalism has become subject to control by the transfer to biased television newscasts. This will be explained using evidence from Ulrich Keller to explore how the introduction of photojournalism created a false sense of truth and reality. Furthermore, I will explain the change which ensued with the birth of television newscasts using Mitchell Stephens’ writing on the matter. I will then connect the shift from photojournalism to televised newscasts to explain the ability for the latter to possess massive social control over society using evidence from James Beniger, as well as John Fiske.
Although photojournalism was introduced to media outlets as early as 1867 in weekly magazines and 1880 in daily papers, the real sensationalism it caused did not appear until 1890 (Keller 146). Photojournalism in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s was a new and sensational means to convey a message to mass societies within America and other technologically advanced countries becoming renowned for its ability to deliver proof of reality to otherwise unsubstantiated text. Within thirty years photojournalism captivated a daily national audience, in 1910 in New York City alone, fourteen newspapers contained an average of 903 pictures per week (Schunemann 102). This steep rise in photojournalism enabled the illusion of reality and truthfulness believed by mass societies. By providing pictorial proof people were subjected to believe what was being shown. Unfortunately, photojournalism had numerous biases and was not ...
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The role of the news-making photographer in Gardner’s era was to document the history that was in the making, documenting the battlefield and anyone that would be considered a pioneer of the news. They also had a role to make large photographic prints. Today, photojournalist’s play the role of being a visual story teller. They have to photograph, edit and present the images they shot to tell a story that no one else can tell. They have to be knowledgeable about the trade and have to be able to use all the tools provided really well. The time from Gardner’s era and today technology has changed and the equipment has advanced so far that more advancement is continued to be used to the fullest. The only thing that I have really seen be the same is the way photojournalist photograph their subjects. Some photojournalist even still use the darkroom to produce their images and that has been around for ages.
In the chapter, “The Mirror with a Memory”, the authors, James Davidson and Mark Lytle, describe numerous things that evolved after the civil war, including the life of Jacob Riis, the immigration of new peoples in America, and the evolution of photography. The authors’ purpose in this chapter is to connect the numerous impacts photography had on the past as well as its bringing in today’s age.
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The mass media carries with it unparalleled opportunities to impart information, but also opportunities to deceive the public, by misrepresenting an event. While usually thought of as falsifying or stretching facts and figures, manipulation can just as easily be done in the use of photography and images. These manipulations may be even more serious – and subtle – than written manipulations, since they may not be discovered for years, if ever, and can have an indelible and lasting impact on the viewer, as it is often said, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. One of the most significant images of Twentieth Century America was the photograph of a migrant mother holding her child. The photograph was taken during the Great Depression by photographer Dorothea Lange, and has remained an enduring symbol of the hardship and struggle faced by many families during the Depression Era. This image was also an example of the manipulation of photography, however, for it used two major forms of manipulation that remain a problem in journalistic photography.
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In his editorial "Words Triumph Over Images," Curtis Wilkie blames today’s media for being “reckless” and “a mutant reality show”. He believes that television and radio are “unfiltered”, which causes the quality of journalism for newspapers to be unmatched. Yet, it is unfair to label all media that is not print as lesser because the quality of any media relies on the viewers and the individual journalists, and in drastic situations like a hurricane, reporters may have many road blocks. Any of these aspects can affect the quality of journalism, which invalidates Curtis Wilkie’s claim.
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The journey a journalist traveled has a long and bumpy history. Newspapers have been around since the 1500's (McNair, 2007, p. 27). The advent of the first daily newspaper in 1702 called the Daily Courant would be one of many news tools (Horrie, 2008, p.148)...
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