Truly, David Gates is right when he said that a picture could paint a thousand words. Photos can touch and shape each and every being. Like humans, it has different roles of which it would be used. Each has a unique detail and style that can inspire or persuade its viewer thus, leaving a social impact. It would be better if journalism or news publication would focus on the accurateness and precision of the true story. Journalist’s job is to deliver the right, true message not the exaggeration of the subject. Stunning photo designs could strike and attract the public’s eyes but it falsifies the true phenomenon.
Digital changing of photo might lead to misinterpretation of the viewers or the public. Digital editing of photos should be controlled as a whole and should be restricted to the side of the reporting/news publication. If the digital changing of photographs could not be banned on the side of the media, then there must be a monitoring body that would check the photo that would be released to the public. John Long’s statements about photographic ethics fairly enlighten the concern about the effects of photo manipulation to fairness and accuracy of using a changed photo in reports and publications.
The credibility of the journalists would be at risk if it were not taken seriously. A single wrong released to the public could affect the side of the media. This in result would leave controversy and doubt to the public, making the side of the media unreliable. These would confuse the public, making them lost the real side of the story. Media should know when to change and modify a photo or when to untouch it. With these kinds of concern, the art of changing photos using digital photography should be separate from how it was taken in reality. It is true that photographers have the right to design their photos (Meltzer, 1996).
However, the art of painting and sculpting is different from publicizing news. In journalism, the truth and accuracy should come out. The society needs to know what is really happening. They should know what is going on in their surroundings. It is not new to us that today we are living in a digital world. Every thing moves with technology. Most of us can and has access to it and some takes the advantage by manipulating it (Meltzer, 1996). The notion of controlling and restricting digital photo editing to the side of the media could create a rebut from the many, for many nowadays has an access to it and can easily manipulate a photo.
In reality, we humans are amazed and swayed by the more beautiful things. We humans try and try to change a something into more exquisite masterpiece. However, by changing that something we lost the real piece. We lost the truth. Photo editing should be controlled on the part of journalism, where the truth should not be falsified.
Bibliography:
Meltzer, B. , (January 1996) Digital Photography: A Question of Ethics. , Leading and Learning with Technology. http://www. iste. org/publish/learning/learning. html (April 13, 2009)