Making a “True” Statement vs. Stating the “Whole Truth” in Photo-Journalism

What does it mean to be a journalist? In my mind, it means reporting on local, regional, and even international events that can effect any number of people. I believe that the news should always be truthful and without bias. We can see from most if not all media sources, that there is some level of opinionated language used in that sources articles. Even if it is not intentional, bias can sometimes sneak into anyone’s writing. During one of our previous English 432 classes, we took a look at some of photos taken of New York following Hurricane Sandy. These photos illustrate New York city, holding onto what little electricity it had left. There were splotches of buildings with power surrounded by splotches of buildings without power; however, one of my fellow classmates (unfortunately I am unable to remember the exact classmate that made this statement. If this is you, I do apologize) brought up that one of the biggest areas that we could see had power, was the financial district.  Whether or not this would be clear to most who viewed these pictures, I can not say. Regardless, I can infer that this might be intentional. If one were to look towards the background of this picture, one would see the many other splotches of power and non-powered areas. There is not just one area with power, nor is there just one area without power. The picture is just focused on the financial district having power and its being surrounded by a non-powered section of the city. Maybe this is a statement on NYC’s priorities and claiming that it heavily leans towards the wealthier communities. Regardless of the intended message these pictures were trying to send, regardless of whether or not I agree with this interpretation of this message, I feel that I can only say one thing definitively. There is bias in the media and regardless of whether or not I agree with said bias, we must always form our own opinions out of the information we are given.  With this statement being said, I have one question to ask whomever decides to read this post. Is it reasonable for the media to mix opinions in with facts if it serves to make a statement, or should all media be factual, regardless of whether or not it gets a point across?

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