NPPA Press Release

DURHAM, NC (March 9, 2005) ­ The National Press Photographers Association, the society of professional photojournalism, today said that Newsweek magazine’s use of an altered photograph of Martha Stewart on its cover last week was “a major ethical breach.” Stewart’s head was superimposed upon the body of a model who was photographed separately in a Los Angeles studio, and the composite image was published on Newsweek’s cover.

“NPPA finds it a total breach of ethics and completely misleading to the public,” NPPA president Bob Gould said today. “The magazine’s claim that there was a mention on Page 3 that it was an illustration is not a fair disclosure. The average reader isn’t going to know that it isn’t Martha Stewart’s body in the photograph. The public often distrusts the media and this just gives them one more reason. This type of practice erodes the credibility of all journalism, not just one publication.”

NPPA Ethics Committee chairperson John Long asks, “When will they ever learn? No amount of captioning can ever cover for a visual lie. If you respect the written word enough not to lie, then you should respect the image enough not to lie as well. If it looks real, then in a news context it better be real.”

“Readers aren’t stupid. They’re critical thinkers,” says Mike Longinow, a former newspaper reporter and photojournalist who now teaches reporting, editing, and photojournalism at Asbury College in Wilmore, KY. “And their belief in the credibility of print media has been slipping for some time in this country. Many don’t believe what they read. And when they can’t believe what they see, either, in the visuals that are intended to invite their reading, they’ll vote with their feet. They’ll turn away ­ and not just from Newsweek. They’ll be turned off to publications that care about visual and written integrity. That’s what makes this case (not the first one in recent decades) so tragic.”

Full Story Online At:
http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2005/03/newsweek.html

NPPA (www.nppa.org), based in Durham, NC, is dedicated to the advancement of photojournalism, its creation, editing, and distribution, in all news media. NPPA’s mission statement and its newly revised Code of Ethics encourage photojournalists to reflect high standards of quality in their professional performance and in their personal practices. For more information please contact NPPA president Bob Gould at [email protected] or NPPA Ethics Committee chairperson John Long at [email protected].