Becker's Basic Contention and
Conclusion
Summary – written in 1990
Photography as been excluded from journalism teaching, discussions and
investigations as it is considered to come within the mere trivial areas of the
popular (ie, tabloid) press.
She states that there are three types of publication using photography:
·
Elite periodicals
·
Tabloids
·
Weekly supplements to more serious newspapers.
She analyses the historical development of the use of photography in
journalism and the contemporary context in which it continues to be used by the
tabloids to report the news.
The author appears to be saying that within the daily press and,
largely due to the tabloids, photography has failed to join realism and
self-expression of the news. The quality
of photography is poorly presented and fails to provide a window into the
reality of the news. The tabloids have
developed it into an anti-establishment forum whilst attractive populist
sentiments, thus working towards the destruction of professional unbiased journalism.
What does the conclusion add
to the opening paragraph?
Her thinly veiled dislike of the tabloid form of journalism is referred
to as a possibility in the introduction but heavily re-inforced in the
conclusion. She states that photographs
exclude the need for reasoning and enlightenment as they are ‘manipulated’ by
the tabloids to present a purely visual medium.
Her arguments, whilst perhaps valid to some extend in 1990 when the
paper was written, are in my view, completely discredited today when the most
serious journalistic vehicles use photography and film to enhance their
reporting and discussion of the news.
People, readers and viewers, are very aware of the possibility for bias
and propaganda and considerable effort to confirm the authenticity of the
events depicted is a regular occurrence today.
1. The early picture press
Becker described the early historical background to the use of
illustration in journalism. One of the
earliest – The Illustrated London News founded in 1842 – employed illustrators
to depict important current events.
There, wood engravings were then rapidly transferred into newspapers to
add weight to the written descriptions.
This form continued through preference until about the 1890s as they
were considered more reliable and suitable for the purpose than photographs.
The Spanish/American
war marked a big step forward in the use of photographs and of photojournalism. Mass circulation magazines arose and large
advertising revenues formed the foundation of picture magazines in the 1930s.
2. The tabloid =
sensationalism = photography
Photographs began to be seen as key to successful, sensational coverage
of major events in the 1920s. The major
themes are violence, sex, accidents and society scandals. This type of sensational journalism by the
tabloids, both American and European, broke the guidelines of ethical practice
in order to sell more papers. These
guidelines differed according to the various cultural and other practices of
different countries. The widespread
result, however, seems to be a loss of accuracy and credibility in the race for
increased sales. Becker cites some
examples of violations of the guidelines.
It was felt by some commentators that the uninhibited use of sensational
photographs defeated the objective of disseminating news.
3. The Daily Press
“Supplements” The news
Daily newspapers began increasingly to produce weekly supplements,
largely composed of photographs, from the 1890s. These were in response to the popularity of
photography. This separation between the
more lightweight photographic supplements and the actual written news section,
protected to some extent the latter’s downgrading.
4. The picture magazines
legacy
Mass circulation picture magazines emerged between the wars. Becker considered they had little direct
influence on tabloid photojournalism but they established new genres of photo
reportage. Photography, especially
documentary, became accepted as popular art.
Photography was becoming a mass medium in a popular and respected
form. Photojournalism reached
unprecedented heights but this elevation excluded the tabloid press which
persisted in being considered ‘low’ culture.
5. The contemporary domain
of the tabloid
Becker details the type of photograph commonly used by the tabloids and
one, at that time, mainly posed photographs by ordinary people and
celebrities. (This is certainly not the
case today). The tabloids relied also on
an impact-making headline which attracted attention on a news stand.
6. Plain pictures of ordinary
people
Most photographs in newspapers are very plain – people in ordinary,
everyday surroundings, displaying strong emotions of either joy or sorrow on
their faces. Not much attention would be
given to them in a different context.
Yet these photographs resonate in a familiar and private way. Eye contact between the viewer and the
subject establishes them as equals. In
another context, tight facial framing, in a frontal photograph, often leads to
its identification with a criminal act.
7. Celebrities
The different ways in which photographs of celebrities and sports stars
are used follow a similar style to that for ordinary people but the strong
emotions are missing. This assumes that
the viewer can recognise this person as famous, not necessarily the actual
identity. In the celebrity context, it
becomes revealing, giving the readers a privileged look behind the scenes. Performance and file photographs are often
used as a contrast in the case of current scandalous behavior of a
celebrity. Candid shots are not always
what they seem and could have been staged to give them required useful
publicity to a celebrity. The term
’paparazzi’ coined in the film ‘La Dolce Vita’ has come to be associated with
candid, unstaged photographs but these, Becker considers, to be awkward and
unpleasing.
8. The News Event
Action, candid photographs associated with a news event, reveals
ordinary people when the comfort of their daily lives is torn away. Again, the photographs are awkward and of
uncertain focus but are typically treated as belonging to a higher order of
truth than the arranged pose. Technical
flaws have become the convention of the tabloids’ style, believed to enhance
the appearance of candour. National disasters
and major political events where photographic coverage is used to establish a
certain perspective often change the emphasis of a story.
9. Reframing the picture in
words and layout
An explanation of the photograph is vital to the understanding of the
situation. Becker believes a photograph
cannot stand alone and its meaning is heavily influenced by the text and layout
surrounding it. She gives some examples
of a highly-charged piece of text alongside a fairly ordinary photograph and
the use of such punctuation as exclamation and question marks and dramatic font
sizes is cited as a dramatic way in which attention to the subject is
drawn. This text/photograph relationship
is most prevalent in tabloids. The text
carries the greater authority. Questions
deliberately lead to additional nuances of meaning in certain situation, the
photographer becomes the news and contradicts the ideal role of the journalist
as standing separately from the events.
However, it should be remembered that the original photograph would probably
bear no resemblance to the one published in the newspaper. Its size/framing and contrast have often been
changed for greater dramatic effect. Thus,
the guidelines to protect the notion of photographic proof, are continually
being overturned.
Becker’s central argument contrasting the use of photographs in the
tabloid press with their use elsewhere – bolster or not?
Becker’s main thrust concentrates on the use of photographs by tabloids
and apart from an analysis of the historical context, does little to draw
comparisons between the use of photographs outside the tabloids. She destroys their credibility in tabloids
and stresses the need for text to explain them, thus downgrading the
intelligence of some readers and the possible importance of disseminating of
news. She shows an intellectual’s
contempt of all things in the tabloids whilst failing to address any
shortcomings in the so-called broadsheets.
Becker’s case has, in my view, not been proved, especially in the
modern context. The use of
photojournalism in the tabloids has served both historically and currently to
educate and enthuse a wide group of people who would not otherwise be so
informed. Those who only enjoy the more
sensational type of tabloid journalism would probably be unreachable in any
situation.
