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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: Brian Mosely

As Darth Vadar would say..."impressive, MOST impressive"


141 posted on 09/28/2005 6:39:15 AM PDT by Apple Blossom (Rush's home page girl)
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To: caspera

It makes him feel impotent.


142 posted on 09/28/2005 6:50:27 AM PDT by rollinginmybuggy (The Electric Amish)
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To: freedumb2003

just common whores.

but with a twist.

backdoor instead of front door.

making the customer happy with multiple payment options.


143 posted on 09/28/2005 7:02:13 AM PDT by rollinginmybuggy (The Electric Amish)
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To: Brian Mosely
Can't get the Zombietime link to work. Do you have another location?
144 posted on 09/28/2005 7:26:47 AM PDT by pepperdog
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To: Brian Mosely

The differences in the Chronicle picture and the one taken by Zombie are many. Check the point of the scarf, and the background of the picture.

It seems to me that the photographer purposely took a close-up of that girl (at a different time tham Zombie), BUT the photographer chose not to picture what the girl was all about. A little sliver of a picture showing what Bob Kohn ("Journalistic Fraud") would probably call 'distortion of facts'.

Zombie's picture tells the whole story.


145 posted on 09/28/2005 7:28:45 AM PDT by Exit148 (Founder of the Loose Change Club. Every nickle and dime counts!!)
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To: Brian Mosely

Really great post. Nice job.


146 posted on 09/28/2005 7:35:22 AM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: dead
Thanks...but as I have said repeatedly in this post, I am NOT the author of this piece. Credit goes to "Zombie." Please check Little Green Footballs, that's where I got the link.
147 posted on 09/28/2005 7:39:02 AM PDT by Brian Mosely (A government is a body of people -- usually notably ungoverned)
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To: Brian Mosely

Well then, thanks for posting it.


148 posted on 09/28/2005 7:40:11 AM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: Brian Mosely

Great work, absolutely excellent expose of the liberal media's bias. Thanks for the post


149 posted on 09/28/2005 7:42:17 AM PDT by sasafras (Want to get rid of illegals then take away all the benefits and penalize employers who hire illegals)
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To: Brian Mosely

These International A.N.S.W.E.R. people are the modern-day equivalent of the German-American Bund during World War II. They're the enemy within our country, plain and simple.


150 posted on 09/28/2005 7:52:00 AM PDT by jpl
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To: Brian Mosely

BTTT


151 posted on 09/28/2005 7:54:56 AM PDT by Rightly Biased (<>< Like $3 a gallon gas? Thank an enviromentalist.)
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To: Brian Mosely

Accurate but fake.........


152 posted on 09/28/2005 7:55:51 AM PDT by prognostigaator
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To: sauropod

Thanks, 'Pod!


153 posted on 09/28/2005 10:01:48 AM PDT by BufordP ("I wish we lived in the day when you could challenge a person to a duel!"--Zell Miller)
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To: bpjam; Brian Mosely

...you just brought more enlightenment and understanding that 1000 NYT columnists. Kudos.
***

Not to mention a word the MSN no longer comprehends -- honesty.

Well, done, Brian.


154 posted on 09/28/2005 10:46:38 AM PDT by Bigg Red (Do not trust Democrats with national security!)
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To: Brian Mosely

Well done.


155 posted on 09/28/2005 10:49:49 AM PDT by stevio (Red-Blooded American Male (NRA))
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To: Brian Mosely; nutmeg

Great photo essay!
Yours is truthful, and not designed to deceive.

Thanks for the ping!


156 posted on 09/28/2005 12:35:07 PM PDT by dixiechick2000 ("Virtute et armis" - By valor and arms)
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To: hellinahandcart

You guys are right. Scarves do slip after a hard days holding up F@#$ @&sh signs and running down the USA. I guess I didn't get the context of the context of the post. As far as I'm concerned anyone that has to wear a mask while participating excercising their freedom of speech in the United States of America is a coward. And a dangerous coward at that.

Isn't there please, a summer camp or an island somewhere, a place all these people can go and be with others like themselves. I get so tired of being told how evil I am. I get so tired of being told how stupid I am. Can't they all just go away?

I suppose that won't happen. I suppose that as long as there are big megabuck foundations and free trips on a school bus to protest, these folks will keep on showing up.

What the country obviously needs is something to focus their attention on reality. I got a job, why don't they have to get one?
Pard


157 posted on 09/28/2005 4:02:22 PM PDT by Arizona Pard (What form does property take?)
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To: Brian Mosely

Is that a little -- er- humongous ring on her finger, or a weapon?


158 posted on 09/28/2005 4:18:30 PM PDT by Exit148 (Founder of the Loose Change Club. Every nickle and dime counts!!)
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To: Arizona Pard
Scarves do slip after a hard days holding up F@#$ @&sh signs and running down the USA.

That made me laugh out loud. My cat is staring at me.

Isn't there please, a summer camp or an island somewhere, a place all these people can go and be with others like themselves.

This is it. This is their summer camp, their family reunion, their cruise on the Love Boat and their trip to Fantasy Island.

159 posted on 09/28/2005 5:48:46 PM PDT by hellinahandcart
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To: All

Hmmm....and you believe that the conservative media has never done the same?


160 posted on 09/28/2005 7:38:08 PM PDT by cheekylilminx
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