Fox News Alters Photos of Enemy Reporters
According to Media Matters, Fox News is getting even with its perceived enemies by altering their pictures to make them look rather monstrous, then airing the results.
The website says the images were shown on Fox & Friends. The program’s host, Steve Doocy, was commenting on a recent article in the New York Times that said Fox News’s ratings were showing an “ominous” decline. Doocy called the story's writer, Jacques Steinberg, an “attack dog.” Also singled out was Times editor Steven Reddicliffe.
During the commentary, the news channel showed photos of both men. The pictures (that's Steinberg above and Reddicliffe below) seem to have been altered from the original shots. Teeth were yellowed, noses made bigger, hairlines pushed back, dark circles added under the eyes—and not with a great deal of Photoshop craft, it seems to me.
Don’t they have someone at Fox who could have done this with a little more skill?
I happen to know Reddicliffe—he lives in the suburb I do, and I see him on my commuter train all the time. In real life, he doesn’t look like an opium eater at all. He’s a very nice guy.
If you’ve seen Fox & Friends you know that Doocy is just a tool. The best-case scenario here is that Fox thought this was a clever joke. Clever? I don't think so. The only joke here is Fox News itself, the media home of Karl Rove. News organizations have no business messing with pictures.—David Schonauer
You're not telling the whole story. The whole piece was done tongue-in-check. They also showed Reddicliffe's face poorly Photoshoped on a guys body that was walking a poodle who had Steinberg's face on it. They also explained why Reddicliffe had an axe to grid with Fox News. You're being quite hypocritical as always which is why your own magazine subscriptions are down year after year. ;)
Posted by: Duluoz | July 02, 2008 at 06:56 PM
Hmmm...I have heard a lot of theories on why print subscriptions are going down but this is a new one! And you base this on what Duluoz?
Posted by: Jeff | July 02, 2008 at 07:07 PM
What a drag. As hard as it is to find a place to go where you aren’t bothered by the BS of one side vs the other, now we’re exposed to the political views of one of your writers just because of a couple of stinking photos.
Posted by: Barefoot | July 02, 2008 at 11:06 PM
Hey, Dave! Want some cheese to go with that whine?
Posted by: Tom Thumb | July 03, 2008 at 08:59 AM
So much hostility over a comment about Fox News! No one, however, is making any reference to the central point of my blog--why would a news organization that claims to be professional purposely alter visual images? The first response to my post about Fox states that I "didn't tell the whole story," which is wrong--I did indeed say the Fox story could have been meant as a joke. But it was a stupid joke, and it is not right for news outlets to manipulate images. No whining here--I save that for my bosses at the magazine--but I am standing up for photographic integrity in the news. If that tool Doocy wants to do a comedy show, he should go up against Jon Stewart.
Posted by: David Schonauer | July 03, 2008 at 10:34 AM
Integrity? You have the gull. You're reporting on an editorial style of show as though it were the nightly news reported by journalists. They're allowed to have a little fun! It's the point of the show. I think your anger is misplaced.
Posted by: Duluoz | July 03, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Fun? Your dismissive attitude about the utter putridity and blatant lack of integrity and professionalism that are the hallmarks of Fox news and all its monstrous "editorial" shows pulls us a little deeper into the morass. Thanks. Here's a gull for you. And a tern. And an egret.
Posted by: pamplemousse | July 03, 2008 at 12:18 PM
My understanding is that the program on which the photos were displayed is not, by any measure of the term, a news broadcast. It’s a morning show where anything is fair game. Much like another morning show by the name of “The View” where if something of this nature had occurred, it probably have been directed at FNN and would no doubt have been considered by Dave and pamplemousse as a brilliant piece of satire.
Posted by: Tom Thumb | July 04, 2008 at 01:53 PM
To the first comment, I don't know how much of 'a whole story' that there is to present. Fox news is not by any means a satirical or 'tongue in cheek' program. It presents itself as a serious news provider, and such chicanery as this has no place in 'fair and balanced' news coverage. Its totally immature for a network to do something like this, and this article is simply reporting such behavior to the public. If they don't want to be analyzed like this, then they should grow up.
Posted by: Sean | July 05, 2008 at 08:14 PM
You know very little of FNN except that it doesn’t carry the water like the other alphabet networks. When they present “the news” it’s done in a very professional manner and contains factual information that may not be included in the presentations offered by mainstream networks. Therein lays the rub with many who may be slightly left of center.
When not in News Mode, their programming is filled with a variety of editorial content and entertaining banter dealing with today’s current events. Something that “grownups” can find amusement in. It may be over the heads of children.
Posted by: Tom Thumb | July 06, 2008 at 09:16 AM
I offer my most heartfelt congratulations to Comrade Schonauer on having single handedly brought forth the demise of one of the revolutions most hated enemies.
All members of the proletariat are hereby encouraged to commend Comrade Schonauer for his courage and celebrate in his victory over the forces of capitalism and the dark underbelly of a bourgeoisie media that is bought and paid for by the blood stained hands of Big Oil.
I will recommend to The Chairman that Comrade Schonauer receive an additional two pounds of potatoes this month and for the next three months to come.
Vice Chairman McFilthy
P.S. It was a quick search, but I couldn’t find a link to Comrade Schonauer’s rage against Reuters’ manipulation of images from Beirut. I’m sure one exists. Perhaps someone more familiar with the state archives could be of assistance. I’m sure it would be an interesting read.
Posted by: Nasty McFilthy | July 07, 2008 at 12:18 AM
The joke is on you David. Everyone else was able to recognize a satire piece (as opposed to a news piece) except for you.
I always find it funny when people deride Fox News. As if all the other news networks (CNN, NPR, NBC, ABC,...) were not blatantly biased towards the left. So you have one conservative network against, what, about fifty liberal networks? If you do not like FNN, then ignore it. You have every other network to watch where I'm sure they will tell you the news the way you want to hear it.
Posted by: Greg Miller | July 08, 2008 at 12:27 PM
What a hoot that the Faux News shill (professional or amateur, c'a ne fait rien) should choose "Duluoz" as his nomme de guerre. As the literate among us will recall, this was one of the names that Jack Kerouac (the young, rebellious Kerouac, not the aging, alcoholic, National Review-reading Kerouac) used for the character representing him in his romans à clef.
(I know, I know...this is America -- speak English. Tant pis, Renard.)
Posted by: Bruce Grant | July 09, 2008 at 05:36 PM
I just watched the original context for this Soviet Style altering of images: any attempt to justify this as being benign due the 'editorial nature' of the show is pathetic.
This is a form of lying that is profoundly dangerous . . . and yet, for some reason, seems to happen quite often with Fox.
How can someone support this with a good conscience?1
. . and dismissing it as mere 'play' is supporting it
Posted by: Plammorama | February 10, 2009 at 04:40 PM