Girl Journalist

Photo from Salon.com. Read more in “Looting” or “finding”? Bloggers are outraged over the different captions on photos of blacks and whites in New Orleans.

Two photos from New Orleans and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina caught the attention of the blogging community this month. According to an article on salon.com the controversy centers around an argument about “whether black people are being treated unfairly in media coverage of post-hurricane looting.”

The AFP image has been removed from Yahoo! News. The AP image is still up (at the time of this post).

It is important to consider the context of the photos, and this would’ve been a prime opportunity for the photographer to explain the context. You know, provide a little background info. Alas, he did not. Probably because that is not something that traditionally, the media would do. But just think what the AP could’ve avoided if they would’ve allowed the photographer the opportunity to explain the situation…

In the salon.com article AP’s Director of Media Relations, Jack Stokes, said that according to the photographer, Dave Martin, he had “witnessed the people in his images looting a grocery store.”

As for the AFP photo, and the use of the word “finding”… it’s pretty weak. These two people “found” bread and soda? Well, sure, they found it and took it. So, what is that called? But, as the Getty spokeswoman explained, the editor and photographer agreed that since the photographer hadn’t witness the people looting, then he shouldn’t say they were looting. Again, a little background info on the scene, when the photographer had arrived and what he saw when he began photographing would’ve helped provide context.