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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Top Galleries: January 11, 2007 Speakers analyze digital effects on photography By Alan Panebaker Ashland Daily Tidings Award-winning photographer David Burnett figures the digital age hasn't killed still photography. It's just made things a little tougher out there. Mail Tribune Editor Bob Hunter, center, approaches the podium after SOU professor Dennis Dunleavy, foreground, concluded his presentation on manipulation of digital photography in the news media, held at SOU Jan 10. Millions of people tote camera phones and the ease and accessibility of digital cameras make manipulation of digital photos easier. The dilemma continues to challenge the credibility of journalism as a young art of "citizen-sourced" media takes the helm. The question, for three professional photographers at a Wednesday night forum at Southern Oregon University, was how to maintain credibility in an age where the public is becoming increasingly skeptical of what it sees. At the 2007 Thomas W. Pyle First Amendment Forum "Can you believe what you see: The Impact and Integrity of News Media Images in the Digital Age," photographers discussed the impacts of digital media on print journalism. Oregonian Photo Editor Mike Davis and Medford-based Mail Tribune Photo Editor Bob Pennell joined Burnett to discuss the state of the business and how recent digital photo manipulations have created skepticism. "There have been so many times in our business where we have shot ourselves in the foot," Burnett said. "We're trying to be really honest brokers in information we deliver, but we've gotten ourselves into a situation where it's easy to see why there is skepticism out there." Forum moderator and SOU professor Dennis Dunleavy presented doctored photos from National Geographic's 1982 cover shot where the Egyptian pyramids had been moved to fit on the cover of the magazine to the infamous Time magazine photo where O.J. Simpson's face was darkened. The magazine was later accused of manipulating the photo to make Simpson appear "darker" and "menacing." Photographers agreed that the huge amount of photos submitted to newspapers and wire services each day make it even harder to determine which images are manipulated, but the deeper First Amendment issue lies in people trying to censor photojournalists. Pennell used the example of the James Kim story. Kim — who died after 11 days of being stranded in the Oregon wilderness — drew a massive search and massive media coverage. Pennell said officials corralled photographers in one area — offering periodic press conferences throughout the day but would not let them into the search area — fearing a lost journalist would spark another search. Pennell said the largest challenge for news photographers now is convincing public officials that the media needs to be present to accurately and fairly obtain information for the public. "You have to get around these restrictions and make your case for the media that it needs to be there to tell the whole story," he said. Burnett said the larger issue even comes from a few media companies owning the majority of the business coupled with the federal government convincing the public that national security issues trump media rights. "The First Amendment is far more at risk because of what's happened in the last five years than anything that has to do with digital photography," Burnett said. "What really matters is people who don't want you to take pictures because of political reasons." As the battle to get the story has gotten tougher, catching manipulated photos has perhaps gotten more difficult also. At the Oregonian, Davis said he looked at about 9,000 photographs Tuesday night. The sheer magnitude of media that people take in from iPods, television and the Internet in mind boggling, speakers said, and the influx of media could threaten the existence of magazines and newspapers, Davis said. However, better digital technology could take the iconographic nature of still photography and make it even more realistic. For Davis, the magic is still there. "The greatest magic in photography is to perceive and to put that perception on a one-dimensional plane," Davis said. The SOU Department of Communication is also collaborating with the Schneider Museum of Art at SOU to present the collected work of David Burnett: "Measure of Time," and Dennis Dunleavy: "The Light Becomes Us," at the Schneider Museum on the SOU campus from Jan. 9 — Feb. 24. Staff writer Alan Panebaker can be reached at 482-3456 x 227 or [email protected] . Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Del.icio.us