Photo Editor for a Day: How Would You Play It?
You are the photo editor of a big city newspaper, and your state's governor has just been named as Client 9, the patron of a prostitution ring. Said governor has just made a public statement. As usual in these cases, the guilty politician is accompanied by his innocent wife, who must stand in front of the cameras to share a disgrace she has nothing to do with. You are discussing with your news editor how to depict this moment on your newspaper's front page. Do you decently crop the women out of
You are the photo editor of a big city newspaper, and your state’s governor has just been named as Client 9, the patron of a prostitution ring. Said governor has just made a public statement. As usual in these cases, the guilty politician is accompanied by his innocent wife, who must stand in front of the cameras to share a disgrace she has nothing to do with. You are discussing with your news editor how to depict this moment on your newspaper’s front page. Do you decently crop the women out of the image, allowing her to preserve a bit of dignity? Do you go full on with a photo that captures the woman’s pain? Or do you split the difference? Are you responsible for protecting the wife and the injured family of the erring husband? Or is your job to allow your readers to see the full spectacle of this public humbling? Let’s here some opinions.–David Schonauer