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Anatomy of a Photograph (more media bias and omission)
Zombie Time ^ | 9/27/05

Posted on 09/27/2005 4:05:54 PM PDT by Brian Mosely

Anatomy of a Photograph



An analysis of a single seemingly innocuous photograph, and the pervasive media bias it reveals.


My photo essay of the anti-war protest in San Francisco on September 24, 2005 was not the only report done about the event. A few other outlets ran their own coverage. But the one photo from the rally that was seen by the most people was this:


Why? Because the San Francisco Chronicle, which had the only mainstream media coverage of the rally, published this photograph on its front page as a teaser for their article about the event.



Now, let's take a closer look at this image.


By chance, I took a photo of the same girl just a few moments later. Looks practically identical, doesn't it?

But you might notice that my picture is lower resolution. That's because it's a zoomed-in portion of a much larger photograph. I cropped off the other parts of the picture to get a close-up of the girl.

But what would happen if I hadn't cropped off so much? Let's take a step backward and reveal what the San Francisco Chronicle didn't want you to see.




Here's the same photo without as much cropping, revealing more of the context. You can see that the girl's protest contingent also sported Palestinian flags and obscene placards.

Now let's take another step back.



Here's my full original photo, uncropped. Now we can see that the girl is just one of several teenagers, all wearing terrorist-style bandannas covering their faces.

But, as you'll notice, the bandannas are all printed with the same design. Was this a grassroots protest statement the teenagers had come up with all by themselves?


To find out, let's take a look at another photo in the series, taken at the same time:



Oops -- it looks like they're actually being stage-managed by an adult, who is giving them directions and guiding them toward the front of the march. But who is she?

The last picture in the series reveals all.



It turns out that the woman giving directions belongs to one of the Communist groups organizing the rally -- if her t-shirt is to be believed, since it depicts

the flag of Communist Vietnam, which has been frequently displayed by such groups at protest rallies in the U.S. for decades.


The San Francisco Chronicle featured the original photograph on its front page in order to convey a positive message about the rally -- perhaps that even politically aware teenagers were inspired to show up and rally for peace, sporting the message, "People of Color say 'No to War!'" And that served the Chronicle's agenda.

But this simple analysis reveals the very subtle but insidious type of bias that occurs in the media all the time. The Chronicle did not print an inaccuracy, nor did it doctor a photograph to misrepresent the facts. Instead, the Chronicle committed the sin of omission: it told you the truth, but it didn't tell you the whole truth.



Because the whole truth -- that the girl was part of a group of naive teenagers recruited by Communist activists to wear terrorist-style bandannas and carry Palestinian flags and obscene placards -- is disturbing, and doesn't conform to the narrative that the Chronicle is trying to promote. By presenting the photo out of context, and only showing the one image that suits its purpose, the Chronicle is intentionally manipulating the reader's impression of the rally, and the rally's intent.

Such tactics -- in the no-man's-land between ethical and unethical -- are commonplace in the media, and have been for decades. It is only now, with the advent of citizen journalism, that we can at last begin to see the whole story and realize that the public has been manipulated like this all along.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: communist; deceit; enemywithin; lefties; mdm; mediabias; msm; supportthetroops
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To: GOPJ

Thanks.


121 posted on 09/28/2005 3:08:17 AM PDT by PatrickHenry (Disclaimer -- this information may be legally false in Kansas.)
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To: Arizona Pard; All

She appears to have tightened the knot; it looks looser in the MSM photo (perhaps she had just put it on). The stripes on the kerchief match so precisely that it is unlikely this was two different donnings of the kerchief.


122 posted on 09/28/2005 3:13:45 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (No wonder the Southern Baptist Church threw Greer out: Only one god per church! [Ann Coulter])
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To: Brian Mosely; The Drowning Witch

Excellent work, FReeper!!


123 posted on 09/28/2005 3:21:17 AM PDT by Jackknife ( "I bet after seeing us, George Washington would sue us for calling him 'father'." —Will Rogers)
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To: Jackknife

the guy in the 1st pic really looks like he's against violence and war .........NOT..Probably has shot a gun more times than the average soldier..
Nice work man...


124 posted on 09/28/2005 3:23:17 AM PDT by hoboken109
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To: Critical Bill

Great site..The pic of the guy with the sign saying NYC I love it better without the world trade centers REALLY pisses me off. I saw them go down live and in person and know people who died that day.I'd punch that bast*rd righ tin the face if I had the chance.


125 posted on 09/28/2005 3:27:34 AM PDT by hoboken109
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To: Apple Blossom

ping


126 posted on 09/28/2005 4:20:58 AM PDT by bmwcyle (We broke Pink's Code and found a terrorist message)
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To: nutmeg; Brian Mosely; All

.

Anatomy of another News Photo:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050927/480/canu11309270602


...just for the LOVE of FREEDOM

.


127 posted on 09/28/2005 5:01:41 AM PDT by ALOHA RONNIE ("ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer/Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965 http://www.lzxray.com)
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To: SinisterDexter

They will have sex for Booze, Cash or Cocain.


128 posted on 09/28/2005 5:05:10 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (Durka Durka Durka. Muhammed Jihad Durka.)
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To: Brian Mosely

That's brilliant.


My congratulations and praise to you.


129 posted on 09/28/2005 5:09:49 AM PDT by Petronski (I thank God for Cyborg.)
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To: Brian Mosely; hellinahandcart; Lil'freeper; big'ol_freeper; kristinn; tgslTakoma; Doctor Raoul; ...

Excellent, Brian.


130 posted on 09/28/2005 5:10:35 AM PDT by sauropod (Polite political action is about as useful as a miniskirt in a convent -- Claire Wolfe)
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To: ALOHA RONNIE

Great photo, Ronnie. I'm really glad you were there to greet them.


131 posted on 09/28/2005 5:16:38 AM PDT by sauropod (Polite political action is about as useful as a miniskirt in a convent -- Claire Wolfe)
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To: All

Great work! The fact that they will go to these links to try and make their side look stronger but ignore a 15,000 people pro-troop rally we had in Atlanta a few years ago really tells me alot. It makes me very happy actually. Thanks for the window to see through.


132 posted on 09/28/2005 5:30:59 AM PDT by The Toll
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To: SinisterDexter

I think they're soliciting.


133 posted on 09/28/2005 5:34:00 AM PDT by Rebelbase ("We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." --Hillary Clinton)
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To: Brian Mosely

Way to go, "zombie"! Wish there was a way to ping him.

And thank you Brian for posting it here. I may have to email it around.


134 posted on 09/28/2005 5:45:07 AM PDT by hellinahandcart
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To: sauropod; All

.

Thank you, sauropod.

It was a most UNFORGETTABLE night at LAX Monday night,

...just for the LOVE of it.


But then,

...some weren't lucky enough to make it there:

Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp

http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts

.


135 posted on 09/28/2005 5:58:16 AM PDT by ALOHA RONNIE ("ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer/Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965 http://www.lzxray.com)
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To: Arizona Pard
So, what are we trying to do here? Tell everyone The story may be false, but the context is true?

No, I believe zombie is trying to tell everyone, with proof, that even if the Chronicle photographer missed the lady in the COmmunist Vietnam t-shirt, he could not possibly have missed the Palestinian flags and the "F Bush" signs (in fact it's written right on the "3rd World Youth Against the War" banner the subject is holding). And an editor decided that of everything available, a glamor shot would be the best descriptor of the event.

That's deceptive. I don't know why you don't see that.

Did you know that it IS possible to tell if an image has been Photoshopped? I bet zombie knows it.

136 posted on 09/28/2005 6:02:33 AM PDT by hellinahandcart
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To: Arizona Pard

Besides, all it takes for those head-wrap things to move around is...moving one's head around. For example, walking along (like in a march) and looking around, or turning your head to speak to the person next to you. After a while the fabric is loose and you need to adjust it.

It's not like they're glued on.


137 posted on 09/28/2005 6:07:18 AM PDT by hellinahandcart
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To: Brian Mosely

Is that Snoop Dog behind the bandana?


138 posted on 09/28/2005 6:32:46 AM PDT by Rodney King (No, we can't all just get along.)
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To: hoboken109
the guy with the sign saying NYC I love it better without the world trade centre

yeah, what an utter dickhead. Hope he got *stopped* on his way home.

139 posted on 09/28/2005 6:35:02 AM PDT by Critical Bill ("Iraq is fighting for all the Arabs. Where are the Arab armies?" ... George Galloway MP)
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To: Brian Mosely

Fabulous Freepage!

This is FOX "Grapevine" material.


140 posted on 09/28/2005 6:36:28 AM PDT by mom.mom
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