Photojournalism and Public Awareness of Humanity - Essay Example

?Table of Contents Sur Photo Journalism and Public Awareness of Humanity Photographshave always been a source of information, entertainment, communication and awareness. They have a clear message depicted through them and in photo journalism; their captions have strong implications and connotative public perception. Photographs, in journalistic domain and media field have been on the side-line of American's lives as a sort of visual undergrowth that is sometimes underestimated. Photography in journalism not only had an impact on how people observed the world, but on what knowledge they have about humanity. They are the pictures that reflect what is going on in society and Americans see on the front page of their newspapers that compelled Americans to construct opinions and take action accordingly. If viewed and analyzed through the window of history, it transpires that photography has asserted itself to be a valuable medium for improving America both ethically and communally, thus revealing that photography is a form of communication that is evenly as well-built as any other type of communication. The Research Question The research question for this paper is “How does photo Journalism impact the public awareness of humanity?” The question needs be elaborated through multi-dimensional perspectives. At one side, it address the significance of photography in journalism, while on the other hand, it also corresponds various ways and means which are direct or indirect consequences of public awareness owing to photojournalism. Yet another importance is that of humanity which has universal implications. In media and communication, every image is full of meaning and message. Background of the Study Today, there are a vast number of people who are still skeptical of the invention and question whether it has resulted positively. The photograph has been an extremely valued invention, by allowing social advancement for minorities, allowing for a more valued news press, and giving artists the chance to steer away from portrait-painting and develop such movements as Impressionism. In general, life as we know it today would not be remotely close to what it is had photography not been invented, and we are able to see this since photography was first generated.         By the invention of photography, minorities, primarily women, were given an equal opportunity to excel in a hobby. Through out the eighteen hundreds, women were beginning to be more and more aware of the need for equality. Co-ed universities and schooling outside of the home were becoming more prevalent through out the United States, and women's activist groups were popping up with an intense velocity. The desire for equality had an equal or greater swiftness in itself, and women all across America were ready and willing to fight for it. Photography was a hobby that was easily done in the home, and although many women's pieces were not given proper recognition until years later the knowledge that women had the ability to do something just as well as men could, gave them inspiration to succeed in photography, as well as life. Objective of the Study This paper will respond and evaluate the question whether photojournalism has a considerable impact on public awareness of humanity. There are so many versatile ways in journalism to convey and spread news and information in society. Although photojournalism is an old method and apparently seems diminishing and dim aspect of media as compared to modern digital technology based ways of news presentation, yet nobody can deny its impact and significance and it is still influential where no other technology can meddle. For example, if we peep through history, we will come to know that in WWI and WWII, it was only photojournalism that narrated the atrocities and tactics used by the confronting parties of the war. Again, it was photojournalism that showed the dismal image of humanity during war and general people was convince to think about the horrible consequences of war. No individual can himself observe all the events and happening by visiting the spot himself. In such circumstances, it is only the photojournalism that helps people understand the situation in a true perspective. This study will examine the effects of photojournalism on society at large and individuals at then smaller level. It will continue by seeking to explain the humanistic aspect of public opinion formation from photojournalistic perspective. (Marshall, 20) Finally this study will strive to clarify, with examples and analysis of today's press, the dramatic changes brought about within the newspaper industry that have led to the mass medium that we have today. Introduction   Few people realize that the meaning of a photograph can be changed completely by the accompanying caption, by its juxtaposition with other photographs, or by the manner in which people and events are photographed. (Freund, 149) Photojournalism was an extreme boost for the awareness of the people as well as the economy and growing social issues. Photographs were being included in newspapers just in time for the Gilded Age i.e. late eighteen hundreds and Progressive Era i.e. late eighteen hundreds through early nineteen hundreds. This allowed many photographers to make the mass public aware of the disastrous living and work conditions many fellow Americans were faced with. The use of photography in journalism made events such as elections, wars, and the western frontier more real to those who were not readily informed of the true reality of these proceedings. Photojournalism led to exponential awareness, promotional realism as well as a way to better convey unprocessed, true-life information. Technological and commercial change in photo journalism transformed the press to popular as well as informative so much so that it has a great influence and impact on social opinion formation and extensive public awareness. The application of photography is a further factor contributing to the radical alteration of the press and subsequent humanistic social development. (Marshall, 11) The Evolution of Photojournalism Just as the Kodak box camera revolutionized public photography, the development of the 35-millimeter camera and fast film created new opportunities for photojournalism. Current photojournalism has its roots in the photography social reformers used between 1880 and 1915 to document and fight the negative social effects of the Industrial Revolution. During 1890s, enlarged numbers of European immigrants developed a massive labor force with diminutive power, and the producers demoralized all communities’ women, men, and children in atrocious working circumstances. Some journalists attempted to avert these troubles through articles and explanations. Muckrakers, who frequently were magazine journalists, and their newspaper counterpart harassed corporations and struggled for modified in labor, agricultural, and commercial laws. Riis and Hine were societal restructuring photographers who photographed the predicament of the pitiable and dispossessed to demonstrate what can happen to inexpert workers in an unorganized capitalist economic system. The U.S. Civil War (1861-1865) quickly stretched the boundaries of news gathering. Before the Civil War news gathering had been relatively amateur and disorganized, but the public's intense interest in the progress of the war pushed journalism to new levels of efficiency. Competition led to what is known as Yellow Journalism, or the period of time that sex, scandal, and crime were used in order to sell more copies. William J Hearst was known to be the king of this sensationalism. (Lindley & Monk, 592) Photojournalism has such a variety of benefits; it is hard to state them all. The awareness in events that it allowed people all across America to be familiar with was worth the invention in itself. However, because of competition between the newspapers prices of newspapers were so low that even the extremely poverty-ridden class was able to afford the occasional newspaper. This promoted reading and made a less biased source to learn of politics and problems of the society than many machine bosses and reformers sought to provide. As the mass communication process, of which the newspapers are a significant part, often involves the sending of conceptually negative and manipulative messages, it would be easy to believe that the passive receiver has little opportunity to respond. (McQuail, 36) The proprietors, owners and the undoubtedly inventive journalists of today's popular press seek not only to lure, but also to maintain a loyal readership. Many factors have aligned to establish the commercial forces controlling this market environment. Not least of these being the power of the image hidden in photo journalism. The use of photo journalism for the purpose of mass awareness radically altered the evolution of media. (Marshall, 25) Tremendous awareness growth was facilitated by advancements in color and graphical printing equipment. However the advancement of these and other new technologies is not considered a leading factor in the market place. The photograph has today become a powerful tool in the market driven newspaper industry. In the 1930's and 1940's magazines such as 'Picture Post' ran articles consisting of photographic domination, text often minimized to small captions. This did not prevail; photograph selection was determined by the 'journalists'. (Bromley & O'Malley, 336) Contemporary press photographer or 'paparazzi' has greater influence and can establish the accomplishment of a story by the 'snapping' of the 'right' picture and communicating some public awareness message through it. (Hodgson, 59) No one is excluded in the often relentless pursuit of the right picture. Reverence once reserved for royalty and politicians exists no longer. Public Awareness in America and Photojournalism Writers had been describing problems of America, such as the sufferings of the poor, since before the Declaration of Independence. But no one yet used a photograph to advocate such an immense social change. During 19th century first decade, photographs just commenced to penetrate into many facets of American life. They were sent and received through the mail, and afterwards these pictures were printed in newspapers and magazines. Journalistic photography was beginning to have an authority not only on how people would like to see the world, but on what they supposed. These photos depicted social scenario and issues and their reproduction in print media or electronic media persuaded and motivated public opinion regarding individuals, community and humanity at large. From the development of photography in the initial decade of 19th century, the art of pictures/photography had come a long way in capturing the public's eye. Rapid industrialization was transforming the United States. The photography industry was no exception to this. Photography was developed in order to capture the events of everyday life, to make true and factual records of history through out the universe. Contrasting numerous inventions, photography led to several other inventions and also the mass industries that have patterned our society into what it is nowadays. Photography became a liberating and creative form of art, allowing each individual across the world to pick up a camera and express themselves however they see fit. Whether photos were taken to capture hardships, love, or historical events, they have allowed us, as well as our pre- and post-generations to view the world as seen long before their time. Enabling us to prevent or sanction the past from today's world. America's production of the camera in industry and the start of photojournalism led to economic advancement through out the country. Collective awareness of masses pertaining to public events was offered fervently as result to the entreaty of photojournalism. This new addition to journalism gave a more vibrant look towards the industry and provided economic advancement for the United States by presenting a whole new accumulated industry. It is correct that photojournalism offered scope of the public affairs subject; its constructive assistance towards society has exceeded by the passage of time and made it an enormously valuable and creative idea. Photojournalism also supplied more newspapers, lowering the cost through competition. This provided the poor with affordable reading material, giving them the motivation to become literate as well as the materials to do so with. The Democratization of Photojournalism and Social Awareness Kodak, George Eastman’s company, introduced film first time on a flexible roll, and one can probably see how this proved to be a gigantic development over the single-image glass plates. Practically anyone, anywhere, was now capable to make pictures. This trend of democratization of photography paved the way to the early stages of our more visually oriented social impact by helping to produce a more visually learned audience. Quite contemporarily, social reformers learnt the influence of the photograph. Jacob Riis, a reporter for the New York Evening Sun. Lewis Hine, a campaigner against child labor a some quarter century later, employed pictures to wake public awareness on these humanistic issues. (Lee, 97) Hine used information about the children’s health, size, and age along with notes from their conversations to give greater emphasis to the pictures below. This same democratization of information also increasingly empowers individuals to a degree never before seen in our society. The Internet gives anyone, anywhere, the opportunity to pull information together in any way they want, free from others’ interpretations. This environment makes it essential that public relations practitioners provide clear information that can only be interpreted one way. Effective message design is crucial because individuals are getting fewer cues from other sources to guide their thinking. One thing to bear in mind is the standard of ethical behavior for a particular medium. Just because the storyboard calls for a particular picture does not mean that the journalist should go out and create that image. Photojournalists should tell a story that reflects what actually happened. (Cork, 65) Lewis Hine’ photojournalism: a young shrimp and oyster worker in Biloxi, Mississippi A Cotton mill Sweeper in Evansville, Indiana, reflection of Child labor in the Early 1900s (Courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division) Print photojournalists usually adhere to a standard of minimal interference. Historians of journalism ethics will tell you that this is a position that has evolved over time. The grandfather of the picture story, W. Eugene Smith, maintained that he adhered to the truth in his pictures, but truth is a flexible concept. Smith was known to combine images from different negatives to add truthful symbolism to a picture. One example is a famous photograph of Dr. Albert Schweitzer in which Smith inserted the images from different negatives of a saw and a reaching hand to add to what he saw as the truth of the statement of the picture. (Lindley & Monk, 594) Such manipulation of still pictures today is usually grounds for dismissal from a news publication. Most news publications expect pictures they publish to represent what the photographer saw through the view finder when the picture was made. This same hands-off standard does not always hold in video news packages. Frequently, when television news interviews are being shot with one camera, the shots of the interviewer are made after the interview has been completed. Video needs those cutaway shots to maintain continuity in its linear format. The interviewer usually sits and nods or looks thoughtful and those pictures are interring cut with answers from the interview. Occasionally, the interviewer is photographed asking questions at a time different from the actual questioning of the subject. The questions are the same, with the only difference being the timing and the direction of the camera. One problem with one photographer trying to make images for more than one outlet is the conflict between capturing that frozen fraction of a second and fulfilling the basic needs of broadcast news. Still images are dependent on that iconographic key moment that tells the complete story. If the photographer is looking away trying to get a cutaway shot for the video report, the decisive moment might be missed. The strengths of Hine's images rest in their composition: the lighting, posing, and subject matter, which all forced together to demand to viewers' emotions that would be unfeasible to arrive at in any other form or media. Hine's objective was to generate intimate, personal human portraits on social awareness issues of humanity. Jacob A. Riis’ most popular work, How the Other Half Lives which was a blend of written word and photography, became an indispensable work that rapidly brought on much desired reforms. All these photojournalistic pictures raised social awareness about communal issues and reflected poor humanity. That is why, it is said that Riis' pieces of work lay down the groundwork of modern photojournalism. Jacob A. Riis’ How the Other Half Lives Riis appreciated the fact that there were certain kinds of things that you could see in those pictures that would go right to your heart instead of to your head. Hine opined that if people could observe the existing conditions of the slums and the violations of child labor, they would be provoked to take actions to get better those conditions and prove to be helpful in stopping those abuses. (Curran, 13) Things like newspaper articles were able to inform the readers of what was happening in America, but the photographs gave viewer a whole new perspective on the situation, almost as if they were in the shoes of the photograph's subject. Photojournalism and the Level of Public Perception Photographs are taken in a specific perspective and there is a well-built reliance on the awareness of this background which establishes how the final image is comprehended by the reader or viewer. It may seem obvious, but a central characteristic is being there. Where, arguably, a news reporter could arrive after the event and still piece together a story from eye witnesses or the police for example, it is not quite so plausible for photography. Once the event has happened the photo-opportunity is lost. The photographer also needs the appropriate equipment to carry out the job and to know the background details so as to be able to take informed photographs that can tell the story, back up or complement the written word. Another skill is being able to anticipate what is about to happen, and being able to respond effectively to an unexpected turn of events so that one can be in the optimum position to draw out the visual elements of the event for the ideal photographic moment. The masses need to consider the purpose of the photograph in the context of photo-journalism and what information the image is intending to convey. As far as it is possible to say what makes a good photograph in this context, it is one that does more than simply illustrate the event or the story: it should reinforce information that is already on the page. (Lindley & Monk, 598) It is part of the photographer’s skill to be able to assess the subject, isolate its visual qualities and predict how these will appear in pictorial form. Often it is intended to refer to a much wider context, effects and significance of the event than the immediacy of the event itself. In order to achieve this, research and preparation are of key importance. It is not simply a matter of gaining as much familiarity with the story as possible; it also involves being aware of the balance between words and images as they will appear in the final copy. Conclusion Photojournalism definitely has a sound impact on public awareness of humanity. In photojournalism, it is most possibly projected to exhibit the supremacy of assurance that might provide the viewer with proof to sustain or change an opinion regarding a particular social issue. When visually retrieving the growth of social welfare and ethical reform in America, it is almost improbable to negate the truth that an enormous part of it is owing to photojournalism. The public would not be aware of the facts about Iraq war had there been no clues exposed through photojournalism. American photography has captured the images of a century of change and progress, and told the camera has played is both in creating and documenting it. Time and time again photography has had an unparallel way of touching a person that no other medium could. The photograph plays on emotional intelligence, and transcends differences in language and culture. A person 100 years and 10,000 miles away from a particular moment can see exactly the same thing the photographer did when taking the picture. Photojournalism has a vital impact on people and public opinion, irrespective of race, financial status or gender, though these are also human variables which are the subject matter of photojournalism. Contrary to the written word, photographs get around the intellect and straightly touch the soul. The photograph gave photojournalists more leeway, allowing them to paint outside of the ever repetitive portraits. This release led to movements such as expressionism and other more enticing forms of art. Though at first many photojournalists saw photography as a threat, as the idea of photography and desire to expand became more wide-spread, the idea of the threatening photography began to diminish. Between the liberation from portrait-artistry, the ability to move depict reality outside, and the desire for change, the profession of photojournalist became much more respectable, individual, and therapeutic. With the previously stated evidence, it will therefore be shown that with the advancement of photojournalism came the society that we live today, with this valuable invention, women were more able to form a more equal society between themselves and men, the field of media and journalism in general became more fruitful and an economic surplus, and photojournalists were given the chance to fulfill their true creativity. It is totally obvious that the United States would not be as progressive or as well known, as it is today if it weren't for the growth of photojournalism. During the early years of the nineteenth century, the perceived role of the press as political educator still lingered. The people were still represented by many independent political newspapers. Papers such as the Poor Mans Guardian, published despite repressive laws. Organization, ownership, production and distribution were carried out on a national scale, often in the face of serious disadvantage. Governments used newspaper stamp duty, taxes on paper and adverts, in an attempt to contain the radical press. The Stanhope press, one of a new generation of presses, was a major step forward. The vigorous radical press unrelentingly continued to produce large amounts of publications aimed at artisans and unskilled workers The development of printing techniques was however slower than would have perhaps been the case, were it not for the Stamp Acts. Although introduced to help prevent the working class from reading newspapers, they in fact inhibited the growth of the capitalist press. The radicals agitated energetically for the repeal of the Stamps Act, fighting for the rights of a free press. Ultimately the repeal they sought and which was finally accomplished in 1860 opened the flood gates for new web-fed presses. Production became increasingly capital intensive. Economic control replaced legal and political control as the driving force behind photojournalism The revolution in printing processes brought about by new technologies enabled extensive innovation. The style and production of popular daily newspapers began to change. The Sunday papers had always been aimed at a lower class reader, but in terms of readership these far outsold the daily papers. These papers had traditionally consisted of a more salacious content, scandal, romance and sport presiding over heavier reading. But, still, the element of influential photojournalism was not missing. As a modern society no one wishes to pertain to a communist theoretical approach. However whether the popular press of today like it or not, they do have a guiding force, the motivator of society. Mass production and mass circulation was transforming a politically derived press into a commercially marketable product. Critics were unhappy with the erosion of traditional journalism being displaced by a different set of practices and principals. The association between paper and reader was thus being altered from the perfect one of an instructional and scholarly nature, to one of a reformist character. Both traits had always been there but there does appear to have been transformation in the stability of the two. The changing relationship had the effect of transforming the newspaper's assumptions of their readers. Photo journalism changed the course of newspapers and media; it is evident that not all newspapers resorted to entertainment value for increased circulation figures through photo journalism. The dull style of the nineteenth Century political press, determined by their lack of desire to attract readers with entertainment, has improved. Works Cited Bromley, M. & O'Malley, T. (1997) A Journalism Reader, London: Routledge. Cork, R. (1975) ‘From Sculpture to Photography: John Hilliard and the Issue of Self-awareness in Medium Use’, Studio International, 190:60-8. Curran, J. & Seaton, J. (1997) Power Without Responsibility, 5th Ed., London: Routledge. Freund, G. (1980) Photography and Society, trans. R. Dunn et al., Boston: Godine. Hodgson, F.W. (1989) Modern Newspaper Practice, Oxford: Heinemann Professional Publishing. Lee, A. (1976) The Origins of the Popular Press 1855 - 1914, London: Crook Helm. Lindley S, Monk A (2008) Social enjoyment with electronic photo displays: awareness and control. Int J Hum Comput Stud 66(8):587–604 Marshall, A. (1983) Changing the Word: the Printing Industries in Transition, London: Comedia. McQuail, D. (1994) Mass communication Theory: An introduction, 3rd ed., London: Sage. Read More