IF A PICTURE IS WORTH a thousand words, photographers at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch are speaking volumes with their work on the editorial pages.
Editorial pages? No, that was not mistake.
Gallery
“Point of View,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Post-Dispatch
Today’s editorial page.
Gallery
“Our Times,” Providence Journal.
About four months ago, readers of the Post-Dispatch came across a new addition in the paper’s Monday editorial section. There, among the opinion and editorial pieces, readers found a black and white photo under the heading: “Point of View.”
“Point of View,” according to Post-Dispatch Photo Director Larry Coyne, is meant to be a photo equivalent of a written editorial or opinion piece. It serves as a space where photographers can express thoughts and opinions on a range of topics, most dealing with such broad social issues as abortion, racism, and gun control. The purpose is to provoke thought with a photograph, Coyne said.
Although this type of photo commentary is not new to photojournalism, some industry professionals — including a number of Post-Dispatch photographers — question the ethical implications of allowing news photographers to shoot OP/ED pieces while continuing to cover news stories. Others see it as an opportunity for photographers to branch out and explore their work in other ways.
Coyne admits that the road to getting this project off the ground was bumpy and that even now, it still is a work in progress. Not all his photographers supported the idea, and Coyne told them that they could contribute voluntarily.
“We are still trying to smooth out the process,” he said in a telephone interview with Poynter.org. “There are some guidelines in place, but we still struggle with questions that come up from week to week.”
Teak Phillips, a photographer and picture editor at the Post Dispatch, said he objects to the recently introduced photo opinion feature and has chosen not to contribute pictures to the editorial section. He says, however, that he does not object to any of his colleagues shooting OP/Ed pieces.
“I don’t have a problem with photo commentary itself,” Phillips said. “I just think that the line between news and editorial should be a clear-cut one, and journalists should not be moving back and forth between the two.”
Aly Colón, an ethics faculty member at The Poynter Institute, shares Phillips’ concern about the separation between news and editorial functions of a newspaper and its staff.
Colón says such situations can be seen a potential threat to a paper’s credibility.
“Newspapers and news organizations create a bond with their users with the understanding that they will represent the information to the audience in a way that is as accurate as possible,” Colón said. “It’s going to be a challenge if this particular crossover from news into editorial takes place with such frequency that it might cause the journalist and the reader to wonder whether the journalist is trying to be fair or opinionated.
“When you introduce that kind of confusion, you run the risk of impacting your credibility and anything that adversely impacts credibility is bad because it is the credibility that connects us with our readers.”
One possible solution to this ethical dilemma, Colón suggests, might be to create a photo editorialist position that is solely committed to shooting photo editorials, similar to a columnist or a political cartoonist.
Phillips said he would not be against the idea of having a photo columnist solely committed to producing commentary pieces, but knows that it is not a very practical business decision and that very few newspapers have the budget to sustain such a thing.
“If we could afford to do it, that’d be great,” he said. “I think photo commentaries can be one of the most powerful forms of photojournalism. There have been some great photographers in this arena and for people who are inclined to express their opinion, it’s great to have an outlet.”
The idea of having a photo columnist position is an innovative step for a publication, says Kenny Irby, a veteran photographer and the visual journalism group leader at Poynter.
An advocate of photo editorials since his days as deputy director of photography at Newsday, Irby said he thinks such work provides opportunities of mobility and also acknowledges that photojournalists have ideas and opinions to contribute to storytelling beyond the daily news coverage.
“I have always felt that, on the right occasion, with the proper reflection and discussion, photography is a wonderful medium to make expressions about life, whether it be social commentary, candid observation, political satire or environmental exploitation,” Irby said. “This gives photographers new possibilities to make a statement.”
Other papers that have experimented with photo opinion or point of view pieces include the Spokesman Review, San Jose Mercury News, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Irby said.
One example of a paper that has successfully introduced non-traditional photography to the pages of its newspapers is the Providence Journal, which currently has a weekly point of view photo feature and a biweekly wedding column.
The photo feature, “Our Times,” appears on page two of the state section on Mondays and attempts to show readers a slice of life that may be humorous, obscure, or just different from what they might be used to seeing. The wedding photo and column appears on the weddings page of the Sunday paper. Both features are shot in black and white and are accompanied by short essays.
Michael Delaney, assistant managing editor for visuals at the Providence Journal has this advice for those news organizations wanting to stray from publishing only the standard news photos: Understand exactly what you want the feature to be.
“With our two features, one is a point-of-view, slice-of-life feature and the other is documentary photography of weddings,” Delaney said.
Another piece of advice is to encourage your photographers.
“Encouragement is very important,” Delaney said. “This isn’t just another job to pile on. Management has to be supportive and it is also up to fellow staffers to look at it as a positive thing and support it as well.
“I really think this type of thing is good for newspapers and it’s good for photojournalism.”
Wendi Fitzgerald, a staff photographer at the Post Dispatch who has shot two pieces for “Point of View,” says working on the editorial section has forced some of the staff to grow and reach deeper inside themselves to produce some of the work.
“These pieces are challenging and can be frustrating because you don’t have a specific assignment,” Fitzgerald said. “The really good ones take some research and a lot of effort. We’re seeing a lot of our individual styles coming out in them.”
MEANWHILE, READERS OF THE Post Dispatch are beginning to notice the paper’s new feature. Response from readers has been high.
“There’s no doubt this ‘Point of View’ feature has been a huge success,” says Phillips, the photographer/picture editor. “It was meant to provoke thought and get feedback, and the paper has gotten great amounts of feedback.”
Coyne said he has not heard much feedback from other photojournalists in the industry, but that he plans to keep moving ahead with the feature, one week at a time.
“I certainly understand the concerns of some staffers and I respect their opinions completely,” he said. “Again, this is a work in progress and I think that it’s something we can not do within the confines of being objective journalists. There should be a place for it in papers and I’m glad that the Post is making space for it.”
