Q. Now that more or less all photojournalism is done in the relatively new world of digital photography, how do you draw the line between acceptable editing in Adobe Photoshop and unacceptable manipulation? What if that one decisive shot has been manipulated? Do you try to fix the damage and run the photo or is the image abandoned altogether? How do you formulate guidlines specific enough to encompass the vast possibilities of a program like Photoshop?
-- David Brody, Altanta, Ga.
A. We have a very definitive policy regarding manipulation. For news pictures it is unacceptable. Our ethics guidelines make this very clear. For feature sections we sometimes combine photography with illustration. They are clearly labeled as illustration.
Our production department prepares images for reproduction. They are able to detect anything out of line and if they do, we will not run it. If the cause is murky, we will ask for the raw file. We do allow basic contrast/tonal adjustments as well as some sharpening and noise reduction. Our photographers have been taught these basic photoshop techniques and are well-versed in their use.
Assistant Managing Editor for Photography: Michele McNally
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QUOTE .. Photo Manipulation
Q. Now that more or less all photojournalism is done in the relatively new world of digital photography, how do you draw the line between acceptable editing in Adobe Photoshop and unacceptable manipulation? What if that one decisive shot has been manipulated? Do you try to fix the damage and run the photo or is the image abandoned altogether? How do you formulate guidlines specific enough to encompass the vast possibilities of a program like Photoshop?
-- David Brody, Altanta, Ga.
A. We have a very definitive policy regarding manipulation. For news pictures it is unacceptable. Our ethics guidelines make this very clear. For feature sections we sometimes combine photography with illustration. They are clearly labeled as illustration.
Our production department prepares images for reproduction. They are able to detect anything out of line and if they do, we will not run it. If the cause is murky, we will ask for the raw file. We do allow basic contrast/tonal adjustments as well as some sharpening and noise reduction. Our photographers have been taught these basic photoshop techniques and are well-versed in their use.
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as well as links to previous interviews
... argue