vivian shaw

The effects of photojournalism

I haven’t commented much about art or photography in news media, but this sensational photograph caught my eye this evening. (Not embedded to avoid any potential copyright issues.)

The story is about John Hardzog, a cattle rancher who runs a business based on the “sport” of greyhounds hunting coyotes. This photograph of Hardzog with six dogs in a green truck—two of them leaping off the ramp—is the intro to an accompanying multimedia slideshow that includes more photos and narrated commentary by Hardzog.

There’s something interesting that happens when you pair gorgeous imagery with such an uneasy story—I immediately became more sympathetic towards this arguably “despicable” character and semi-vested in understanding the cultural roots/context to Hardzog’s practices. Some may suggest that good photojournalism does just this—softening dimensions and introducing nuance for readers entering the story with a particular viewpoint already in mind. Others may think that photojournalism trends toward being distracting, exploitative, or harmful, at its worst.

Speaking of, the New York Times definitely made a loaded editorial choice in filing this article under “Sports.” (Though at least it’s not under “Style”!)

A great resource: on media culture and imagery.