Slamming Detroit
Is Detroit a city in a lot of trouble? Of course it is. But to the extent the bankruptcy is also a wake-up call, the Reuters slideshow is a derisive post-mortem as well as a subtle expression of racism.
Continue ReadingRolling Stone Boston Bomber Cover. Hmm, We Liked It.
Exaggerating and elevating the kid's likeability might arguably be justifiable if it leads citizens beyond the knee-jerk opposite.
Continue ReadingPortrait from Rio: Glenn Greenwald's Growing Visibility in the Snowden Picture
I don't presume to know Greenwald's thinking relative to his own move into the spotlight. Still, it's important to consider the trade-offs and the consequent risk to your image that come with this magnitude of exposure.
Continue ReadingMultiracial Zimmerman Protest Photos: Sign of Change or Wishful Thinking?
One thing that struck me immediately about the photo coverage of the response to the Zimmerman verdict, distinct from at least recent civil rights inspired imagery, is the number of newswire images highlighting a multi-racial response.
Continue ReadingSnowden in Moscow: “The More Photographed I Am…the More Dangerous my Situation”
It’s evident that either his sartorial taste runs quite narrowly -- as befitting a classic “computer nerd” -- or he’s very specifically controlling his image, or both.
Continue ReadingThe Shooting Death of Ahmed Samir Assem
Was there was ever a stronger scene screaming out for an international response to the endangerment of journalists?
Continue ReadingEgyptian Military vs Muslim Brotherhood: At the Battle of YouTube
It's not only (perversely) interesting how social media is evolving as an extension of the battleground but how everyday web metrics become a defacto measurement of who's up and who's down in the contest for hearts and minds.
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Brazil and Turkey: If it Bleeds, it Leads
What I can say is that, in spite of the violent spasms on the streets, it would be shortsighted to simply lump Rousseff and Erdogan, Brazil and Turkey into the same tear gas canister.
Continue ReadingPhotojournalism and Culture as Famously Banal: Remembering James Gandolfini
What I found hollow and gnawing (like a president had died, or at least a Michael Jackson) was the shock and sentiment on local radio and television over the passing of the actor who played Tony Soprano.
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You Too Can Become an Insta-War Photographer in Syria – GRAPHIC
This piece glorifies the "Bevis and Butthead" idea that any couple of fools can have a harrowing experience like this and live to (sell it to VICE and) tell the world about it.
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Love Amidst the Tear Gas
After the hubbub over "Riot Kiss," I'm not sure how to account for this.
Continue ReadingIssues With Corporate Responsibility? Celebritize!
Talk about a disconnect between words and pictures. I thought I was looking at photos from the Academy Awards or the Grammys – not celebrity wallpaper from the otherwise troubled Walmart annual meeting in Fayetteville.
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Icons, Memes and the Hair-Raising Turkish "Lady in Red"
Just to reiterate: the woman is clearly heroic, but not -- at least, in the frame that went viral -- because what is happening is so straight-forward to read. The power of the image may be primarily derived through political horror, but not without some ambiguity and curiosity as...
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When Words are Photoshopped
So it turns out that there really are two sets of rules: the rules that guide reporting what is supposed to be said, and the rules that insure that some things are not said.
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Cleveland: An American Hero
The man who freed the three Ohio women from his neighbor's house has become a sensation on the internet, mostly so that people can laugh at him.
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Boston and Lower West: How Two Disasters Stack Up in the Media Eye
Is it perverse to say West, worthy of our concern, care, questions and support, was the victim of unfortunate timing?
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Thoughts on TIME's Gay Marriage (or, is it Gay Sex?) Cover
Don't the covers perpetuate gender stereotypes (or gay stereotypes) to the extent the women's kiss is more sensual as compared to the more aggressive/sexual male kiss?
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