Exercise: An essay in photojournalism.

As I've not been afraid to say on many occasions, I am not good with analysing essays. I usually find it easier to give it a read through once, then take another look at it the next day and make a spider diagram as I go along so I think that I will follow the same sequence this time.

Notebook scan - spider diagram

It became apparent almost immediately that I wasn't going to be able to make a lot of pointers for each section of the main body of the essay this way but I used it mainly for the intro and conclusion of the essay. And I was correct in my assumptions that this was a very difficult read for me. It feels as though as we work through the modules, the essays are becoming increasing difficult to read and understand.

The task was to analyse 'An Essay on Photojournalism' by Karen E. Becker, which was available through our course text.
From my vague understanding, Becker's main argument is that photography isn't taken seriously in the news, hence it's popularity in the tabloid press. Becker then discusses the relationship between photography and the tabloid press, looking into the historical factors of how the relationship between the two began and became so prominent and exploring individual topics which link the two together.
After Becker moves through each stage of her argument through the body of the essay, she concludes that it's not the just the candid and awkward photography in the tabloids that make it less serious, it's a number of factors including layouts, text and topics that make it different to the more elite newspapers.
The argument starts with a look into the history of likeness pictures and photographs in news reports under Early picture press and how even, during these times, there was competition between artists sent to cover the news, as to who would get theirs 'out there' first. Becker explains the times that photography replaced the wood carved likeness pictures and how 'the weekly photo-news magazine concept' started.
The tabloid = sensationalism = photography explains how the few newspapers that did use photographs in their news coverage were 'seen as a key to successful and sensational coverage'. Becker goes on to discuss the idea of 'sensationalism' and how it was there to attract more attention and to inevitably sell more of the paper but how the newspapers that used it then became more intent on selling more papers than to 'accurately' cover the news itself. She then gave examples of the extent that these newspapers went to get any kind of photographs to accompany their stories as a headline with a photography would outsell the papers without.
The daily press 'supplements' the news builds on Becker's argument that the tabloids inclusion of photography made it difficult for photography to been seen as serious news. Becker explains how the more elite papers made photographs into 'supplements' to illustrate their news coverage as a 'response to the popularity of photography', which then complimented their articles and the structure of the newspapers appearance. And by doing this they protected themselves from being seen as a 'tabloid' and their newspaper being downgraded.
The picture magazines legacy highlights that documentary photography was now well established and became accepted  as an art form but how this didn't affect how photography was seen in the tabloid press.
The contemporary domain of the tabloid explores the factors which make up a tabloid newspaper, including their dependance on sales, how they tend to have a front page 'poster' photo with a big headline and photos and text being equal in terms of content throughout the papers.
In Plain pictures of ordinary people, Becker gives examples of typical tabloid photographs and how the thought out photographing strategies make us relate to these unknown people. However, Celebrities, shows how the same techniques can be used when photographing celebrities, not only to give us the ability to see them in their homes, with their families, etc, so that we can relate to them and see them as equals, but also to make the viewers believe that the paper is giving them a privileged insight into these celebrities, as though they are doing us a favour. Becker also discusses how there are different ways of photographing celebrities in the tabloids and how you also get the 'papparazzi' style photographs which are normally rushed with bad composition and awkward poses. This is expanded into the news event, where Becker compares this style of bad quality photography to the similar photographs produced through major event coverage where the photographer takes candid shots which expose the emotion and distress or happiness of the people at the event being covered. Becker adds to her argument that these technical compromises in the photography are what the tabloids are willing to accept in order to present the 'real' story and get it out to the public. But Becker then goes into how these photographs wouldn't be any good if used alone, the words that are put with them will ultimately transform it. This argument progresses into the final chapter of the body of the essay, reframing the picture in words and layout, in which Becker then emphasises how the tabloids use the text to accompany and the layout of the photographs. She explains that as the photographs cant be read on their own, the words then 'illustrate' the photographs when really the photographs should be used to illustrate the story. Added together with a headline meant to catch the viewers attention or sensationalism, Becker comes full circle in her argument and explains how all the techniques that the tabloids use completely contradict the conventions of using the photographs to show the factual side of the news.

I think Becker's contrasting of tabloid photography and their uses elsewhere adds to her argument as the main role of a photograph, whether it be in the news or not, is to show fact. To show what is actually there and happening so for the tabloids to violate this and make us question authenticity of photography in the media then it adds to the argument that the tabloids and the photos used within them are not taken seriously.
Becker has staged her argument well and has discussed the history as well as given evidence and has used lots of references. I have never thought of the use of photography in the tabloids or the press before. But after reading this argument, I tend to be inclined to agree with Becker. When you read tabloid papers, you tend to think of the photos as 'gospel' because they are photos and thats what photos are used for however, I think I will take a more interested look at them from now on.