This weekly post has everything you need for completing this week’s self-paced content and readings, plus an outline at the end for what’s covered during class meetings. This week we are wrapping up the course with some ideas related to the future of photojournalism and news images.<\/p>\n
More than anyone could have guessed at the beginning of it, 2020 became a transformative year for photojournalism and visuals in news. The emergence of the coronavirus pandemic threatened the livelihood of many photojournalists. (Even WSU laid off communications staff, including at least one photographer.) <\/p>\n
Then, the growth of Black Lives Matter protests sparked conversations about the role of photojournalists. Many people, including photographers, have reconsidered standards related to privacy, identity and representation. <\/p>\n
One uniting project that came out of this is the Photo Bill of Rights<\/a><\/strong>. The economic disruption of the pandemic led to a broader movement about reconsidering the ways the photojournalism industry has exploited both photographers and subjects in the past. This interview with several founders<\/a> explains how all these ideas are related:<\/p>\n “We were worried about just how people were dealing mentally and also health-wise with just going to work. As those conversations developed, other things came up. What do we want to talk about? What do we want to address? If this is the scenario where we have to relook at our industry health-wise, then what else should we be looking at?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Review & Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n For several years, video has been waning as a priority for news organizations. It’s expensive to produce original video and difficult to compete for attention online with entertainment video. But video footage from police officers and bystanders has become increasingly important, and challenges ideas about what defines a “news video.” Many prominent bystander videos also show the value of video, which can establish a sequence of events over time better than still images can. <\/p>\n The most prominent example from 2020 is of course the video footage showing the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. It demonstrates the importance of visual documentation, the limitation of still images, and the unsettled ethical considerations about news organizations sharing video footage depicting traumatic events. <\/p>\n These two articles take on different topics related to the photographer and viewer perspectives:<\/p>\n From “The Problem With Police-Shooting Videos”<\/a>: <\/strong><\/p>\n “On one hand, bystander video can provide striking visuals for stories of police misconduct that might have otherwise gone unreported or been outright fabricated. … On the other hand, these same videos have performed a sinister function. When police in these clips go unpunished\u2014and when news media fail to humanize Black victims adequately\u2014this footage reaffirms the continued, centuries-long annihilation of a people. The imagery, then, feels sacrilegious to watch.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n From “Are the police trying to stop you from taking that cellphone video?”<\/a>: <\/strong><\/p>\n “By the Tracker\u2019s count, well over 400 ‘aggressions against the press’ \u2014 including dozens of examples of equipment being damaged \u2014 have marred recent Black Lives Matter protests.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Review & Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n Computer-manipulated and computer-generated imagery continues to become more common and sophisticated. Other technological advances like drones also open up opportunities that didn’t exist in the past. This raises many new questions for the future about the ethics of manipulation, the use of surveillance footage in the news, and access to places that people previously assumed were private or unseeable.<\/p>\n Here is one fascinating new demonstration of GAN faces: Designed to Deceive: Do These People Look Real to You?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n And here is a behind-the-scenes video from Nikon that shows how drones aren’t just for taking photos, but can also be used for lighting:<\/p>\n\n
Bystander and Police Visuals<\/h3>\n
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AI and New Technology<\/h3>\n