| Set aside for a moment the journalistic misrepresentation on display in using a photo depicting air pollution to illustrate a story on the costs of meeting Kyoto mandated C02 reductions… |
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There’s a little more than lack of scientific accuracy going on here. Reader “JRB” wrote, wondering if there was evidence of photoshopping.
My initial reaction was “no”. But then I noticed the file name (top-kyoto2.jpg) ends in the numeral “2”. Now, I know what it means when I add a “2” to a file name, so I removed it to see if anything came up.
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How about that? It’s an uncropped version of the same photograph, the difference in overall hue impossible to miss. A little extra searching reveals that CBC used the blue-toned image in a similar formats here and here. |
So, with two dramatically different versions before me, the evidence that one has been altered is clear. Therefore, I think it’s fair to ask – who at CBC news made the decision to “dirt enhance” the image that accompanies the item on John Baird’s report?
And why?
Update – CityNews has footage of the smokestacks being demolished in 2006.
An unenhanced photo of the same site in July of 2005 (taken by reader andycanuck).
Stephen Taylor – “Not only is the photoshopping unethical, it violates CBC’s own Journalistic Standards and Practices.”
If comments and loading are slow to respond, be patient. The server is under fairly heavy load at the moment, with incoming traffic from several top level American blogs. Thanks for the linkage, folks.
(In response to those commentors who argue that there is nothing at all unethical about photo manipulation of this type, let us resume the discussion on the day that a news outlet lightens a stock photo of Barack Obama to accompany quotes from African American political activists that he’s not “black enough”.)
Excellent piece of work, and noticeably better than anything we’re likely to get from the Corpse. Aside from the fact that the CBC’s agenda is showing, as several people mentioned above, what strikes me is the contempt stuff like this shows for the CBC’s (hypothetical) audience: they really don’t think we’re smart enough to catch them or ballsy enough to hit them with a brick for pulling something like this. Smug, patronizing, disingenuous, self righteous, and trivial: uniquely Canadian, eh?
Krydor – if you stop to check, you’ll notice I average 6 – 8 posts a day. Some important, some not. At no time did I characterize this one as the equivalent of the fake Tang memos, or declare it a major scandal. But I do think it rates as an embarrassment for the CBC.
That it was picked up by a number of larger blogs means there’s a lot of interest in it. That interest exists because of the prevalence of photo staging and manipulation in news. Not opinion – NEWS. It’s just another little nail in the media credibility coffin – like the carefully positioned toys used to enhance bomb sites. They’re still bomb sites, no question. The toys add emotional impact in the way the CBC chose to add emotional impact to an image they had used on at least 3 previous occasions in a different hue. Someone made a conscious decision to alter it for the Baird story.
Apart from whether you believe it is important or not that the CBC altered a photo to transform steam into black, oily smoke is pretty much irrelevant. Their own journalistic standards and practices prohibit it.
The CBC is nothing more than the voicepipe of the Liberal party of Canada. Even Warren Kinsella admits that their bias is blatant and indefensible.
The BBC is the most trusted news source by Jihadists, but I doubt anybody else things they’re worth much.
If we need to start buying carbon credits to meet Kyoto I suggest we start by using the money which currently pays for the CBC/Liberal propaganda.
Wouldnt it be funny if the smoke was actually steam.
Way to go guys. Photoshopping evidence TOTALLY cancels the scientific consensus. The liberals are out to take your Jeebus SUV rights. Oh well, the world community is making the changes anyway. Keep on finding your keyboard kommando Photoshop evidence of the “conspiracy” to feel better about it all. Reality DOES have a liberal bias, after all.
Well…we have evidence here that 3 viewres trust CBC…good luck with the delusions people.
This entire post was picked up by National Newswatch today. Comments and all and credited to SDA.
Kate,
If I thought that there was journalistic malpractice from the CBC because of this, I’d be trumpeting it to the heavens. I honestly don’t think so.
The CBC can’t alter photographs? Of course they can. When they talk about photograph alteration, it revolves around stuff like putting Jar Jar Binks in a picture with PMSH and captioning it “Senator from Naboo met evil chancellor Monday morning”. The picture they got it from first turned up, as far as we know, on Feb 18th with what looks like the stacks added for dramatic effect and the word Kyoto placed in the bottom right hand corner.
Heck, they could have used a picture of Toronto on a muggy summer day. They didn’t. They didn’t because they are lazy. The graphics guy was given a task and he completed that task with the minimum amount of effort and moved to his next task.
w3.mgnonline.com is a subscription service used by media organizations for graphics. For fun, search “Global Warming”. Actually, search for anything under the sun and you’ll find composite images with interesting colour correction. The thing is, none of these are supposed to be “real”, they are designed to enhance the story.
I really think this the wrong tree to be barking up when it comes to journalistic malpractice at the CBC.
The CBC’s version(s) of those towers remind me of this:
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0115521/images/illusions/17.jpg
“the fact that the majority of Americans believe a dirty old book that tells them the world was created in 7 days.”
Now that’s just being silly John. For one thing, the majority of Canadians believe in that same book. As do a majority of Koreans, Europeans, Africans, and South Americans. Furthermore, across the globe the only people who can come close to this majority are those who believe a couple of other books which say the same thing.
In other words, you’re missing a giant chunk of your argument, and its the convincing bit that seems missing.
Everyone knows that the problem the strict vegatarians have is with FETULENCE and all this poppycock from PUKIE SUZUKI are stupid and rediclous just like most of the ideas spread by these eco-freaks. SAVE THE EARTH EAT DAVID SUZUKI
Those might be the stacks of the Hearn station down on the waterfront between Cherry and Leslie. It hasn’t worked in decades. There’s also some other stacks down that way (Toronto Hydro?) that might be it.
Thanks Kate — I’ve posted a story about your findings on the CBC’s official blog, which I write, at http://www.insidethecbc.com
🙂
Tod
Hi Kate — FYI, the CBC has sent me its response. You can find it at http://www.insidethecbc.com/policies/news/photoshop2/
Would love to know what you and your readers think.
Tod
CBC blogger
Boy Kate, reading these comments is really disheartening. Not because of the varied viewpoints represented, but because of the obvious disrespect people show for other people’s perspectives. It’s like a roomful of immature schoolchildren in here, or maybe a sitting of the Canadian Parliament! Let’s just insult the people who disagree with us, shall we? Let’s call them names and point our fingers at them!
Oh yeah, that’ll take us far.
For crying out loud. How disheartening.