It has to be taken into reckoning that media is one of the most important institutions of the world society in the present times. In an increasingly globalized world, the media serves the purpose of disseminating the news and information from one corner of the vast globe to the other parts. Thereby, media serves the crucial role of presenting the truth in the form of objective information to one and all. In the present times, the written information comes to be supplemented with visual proof in the form of photograph that is attached to the news in the print media or online media platforms. The trust between the public and the media in an important matter, and if that trust is ruined, the media will not have any believers. Photo manipulation is an issue that might kill the trust that was given from the people to the mass media. To shed light over the topic of photo manipulation, I chose the BBC News published image “Syria massacre in Houla condemned as outrage grows”. This image shows a child who jumps over a line of dead bodies. All those people were killed during the Saddam regime and this exact image was misplaced used after 10 years as propaganda against the Syrian regime. The photograph that has been attached should be omitted from the news report as the photograph was taken previously in a different time and societal context- something that would make the contextual use in this scenario a wrong or manipulative insertion.
The usage of this contextual photograph in the news article about Syria would be distortion of truth as it misrepresents the scenario portrayed in the written report. Publishing the altered photograph would definitely be an erroneous step on the part of the editing department. BBC is an institution that has a great reputation among the masses for the credibility and objectivity of the news that is portrayed. The photograph in “Syria Massacre in Houla Condemned as Outrage Grows” should not be published because it does not relate to the text. The publication of altered images is one of the biggest problems in journalism. Therefore, people lose faith in journalists. They do not believe anymore in what they see. Nowadays, all the images are under the question, because it is very easy to change any image, either to alter the image or to place the photo in a different context. We cannot consider any photograph to be a fixed image anymore. There can be no denial of the fact that photographs are only used in news articles to supplement the data that is explicated in written form. The visual in this context needs to be relatable to the written information that is presented to the masses. Any incongruity with the written text would amount to error in the presentation of data in its true form sans any manipulation. Mitchell Stephens writes, “Digitally manipulated photographs must not be used as a tool for deceiving.” (Stephens 3) If digital manipulation is not acceptable, manipulation of time and context should also be shunned with utmost scrutiny and commitment.
It has to be comprehended by the helm of a media house that the popularity and credibility of the media house is built on the credibility and objectivity of the news that are published by the institution. In the present times, innumerable news agencies or channels have come up to add to the domain of news publishing either in the audio-visual form or in print. While this enhances the competition among the media houses to hog the attention and trust of the masses all over the world, BBC presently stands in a coveted position. The reputation and credibility of BBC has been built over all these years and it can be deemed as one of the most famous media institutions in the entire world. Now, if such a manipulated image is published by such a reputed media house, it would be a huge mistake on the part of the editing department. Putting the reputation of the media house at stake for just one altered photograph in this regard would be very wrong. As such, there can be no doubt that this manipulated photograph should be omitted right away from the associated news report that has been mentioned. Even if the news report is published sans any photograph, it would be better for the institution.
Since this image was taken and has been used previously in another context (that of Iraq many years back), it would be a grave mistake to use this again in this other context to which it has no relation. This would not just be a lapse of propriety of news presentation, but it would also mean that truth would be manipulated in the visual form of data supplementing the news article. Moreover, it would be a telltale sign of gross stereotyping of the Middle Eastern world with the picture of another scenario and context being used for this case. This is something that is a huge error on the part of any media house to say the least. After having comprehended the encompassing controversial issues related to the usage and publication of the contextual image, it can be opined that this would be an entirely unnecessary step on the part of the media house. The media house is best being away from controversies or negative criticism that can hamper the reputation, popularity and credibility of the entire institution. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to opine that the media house should be doubly sure about each any every aspect of every news article before publication for the masses. There is no need to misrepresent or manipulate the news in a bid to make the report more catchy or appealing to the audience of the report.
The contexts of Iraq and the one presented in the news article are totally different from one another. The socio-political dynamics of these two situations are entirely different as well. One thing that is common is the violence and the inhuman face of it. However, one pictorial representation of violence and massacre cannot be presented as the representation of another situation. The situations are not even closely related. There has been a huge gap of time between the two occurrences as well. Any responsible person working in the media should be attentive about being able to present the truth in its unadulterated form. While there is a huge ongoing debate on yellow journalism and ethics in media, misrepresentation or manipulation of news even in the smallest way is not acceptable. This error or deliberate manipulative attempt cannot and should not be viewed lightly. When there is so much scrutiny of the news reports that are published with a number of media houses publishing or reporting the same news in their different ways, such a mistake of presenting a wrong picture in the article can hardly go unnoticed. As such, the media house would draw immense flak from the competitors or the audience.
Susan Sontag correctly opines that, “Photography has become one of the principal devices for experiencing something, for giving an appearance of the participation.” (Sontag 2) This quote from her work is self-explanatory in nature as it goes on to explicate how important the use of photograph can be in a news article. The photograph is not simply an image, but a visual representation of the time and space that are described in the written text of the news article. Any lapse in the proper presentation of the photograph would render the entire article a flawed nature. Like a chain-reaction, such a manipulative use would mar the credibility and authenticity of the contextual news article, after which a question would be raised about the correctness of presentation on the part of the entire media institution as well. As the news editor of a reputed media house like BBC, it is one’s prerogative to curb any such unethical and jeopardizing practice on the part of any employee of the media house. No one wants the controversy and the criticism. Truly John Long has opined, “One of the major problems we face as photojournalists is the fact that the public is losing faith in us.” (Long 1) That is seriously something that is harmful for the media house that publishes the manipulated image. BBC should not encourage any such act presently or even in the future.
In conclusion, it would be correct to opine that there should be more scrutiny of each and every aspect of the news that gets published. In the context of this particular news report, the photograph should immediately be omitted with proper steps being taken to curb any such further occurrences. The use of this erroneous photograph jeopardizes the credibility and reputation of the BBC as a media institution of paramount stature all over the globe in the present times. The reasons for omission should be crystal clear to one and all. The photograph was taken in another context by some photographer and has been published before in relation to the other context. The news article that it is associated with presently has a different spatial and temporal context. As such, the authenticity of the entire news article would be challenged and critiqued by people if this error is identified by any chance. Hence, it is the best decision on the part of BBC to omit this image with immediacy.
Works Cited
Long, John. “Ethics in the Age of Digital Photography.” PDF.
Stephens, Mitchell. “Expanding the Language of Photographs.” PDF.
Sontag, Susan. “On Photography.” PDF.
