Darkening of journalistic photography

[Pieter12]

So why can't the news organization do the final edits on a copy of the trustworthy file to make daylight images look like they were actually taken in daylight conditions? Maybe they can, and normally do. I dunno.

Or maybe they don't have the time, ability or inclination to do so. Today's newsrooms are barely staffed.

 

[Don_ih]

Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world, with around 2500 journalists and 600 photographers working for them. The parent corporation Thompson Reuters has over 25000 employees.

Reuters was criticized for publishing doctored photos in the past. They were also criticized for cropping photos. So perhaps they now only publish the photos they get and don't alter them in any way.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

In the deepest realms of history, photographers and editors would have had a chance to communicate about these technical issues - and frequently that communication worked well for both sides.
Of course, those were also the days when there was a photographic print in the middle of that chain.
I used to frustrate my editors sometimes, because when I had a decent idea where they wanted to use my work, and the approximate size and shape of the window they needed filled, I would give them stuff that they could only use one way, no matter how much they wanted to wield that crop mark pencil!

I;ve read in magazine days, photographers would shoot both landscape and portrait views of each shoot to allow editors to choose the one that best works in the magazine, hoping they'd get selected for the cover shot which is portrait format. They'd even leave empty space where the magazine's title and contents are added to the cover shot.

 

[Jeremy Greenaway]

Not just magazine days - in newspapers as well. It pissed off some of the old brigade shooting on plates or cut film into the 60s because of having to hump more dark slides around. But this wasn't a proplen once film backs became available. It was also one of the reasons why quite a few snappers changing over from plate chose Rolleis. Square format could give the art editor (as picture editors were once called - I was one!) a choice. And them what couldn't run to a Rollei in the 60s/70s had the option of Minoltas and Yashicamats - the latter very good for the price.