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Media Focus Photo

Thoughts on the Racist Businessweek Housing Cover (and Predecessor)

there is no way to tell if the illustration is decrying the practice of targeted and discriminatory lending practices by playing off white or conservative stereotypes to make a point or they are saying, in the most flat-out and racist way, that the restoration of "fair practice" to the...

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Newtown Families at Weapons Ban Hearing: Uncomplicated Emotions

What I'm curious about, however, is why we don't see more photos of anger.

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Militarism Focus Photo February 27, 2013

Teaching Women the 1000 Yard Stare

It's interesting how much differently we might look at a picture given where we are along the "equality trajectory.

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BagNewsNotes Response to World Press and POY Pellegrin Decisions, Controversy Overall

Do we think the entire controversy portends the need for a larger, more open discussion? Yes, we do. And we are impressed with the high caliber of discussion our post has engendered.

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Iraq and Afghanistan War Photo February 26, 2013

Closing Scenes from America’s Afghan War #2

The lead image and the ones above leave not just a bitter taste but build on the archive of leaving Dodge.

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Culture Focus Photo February 25, 2013

Michelle Obama: Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Well, talk about the Obama's going to the furthest lengths to leverage pop-culture.

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Visual Practices & Ethics Photo February 24, 2013

Sensitivity to Abuse in a Photo Award: Time to Rethink the Impact of These Prizes?

My purpose today is to speak to two stories. The first involves a photographer's sensitivity in documenting a profound and deadly threat to our society. The second involves editing stories to win prizes.

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Robert Hariman Photo February 23, 2013

The Ghost in the Machine

Fashion isn’t timeless, but the photographer’s artifice has captured something about photography itself.

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BagNews, Paolo Pellegrin and Reading the Pictures

The other notable effect from yesterday's critique was the counter-critique that BagNews "failed to contact" Mr. Pellegrin in advance or "give him the chance to reply." I welcome the chance to clarify a fundamental misperception people make about the role and practice of BagNews relative to news photography.

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Photography/Photojournalism Photo February 22, 2013

When Reality Isn’t Dramatic Enough: Misrepresentation in a World Press and Picture of the Year Winning Photo

What happens when a World Press Photo and Picture of the Year International award-winning photograph wasn’t taken where it was claimed to be taken and when the subject of the photo isn’t who the photographer says he is?

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Photography/Photojournalism Photo February 21, 2013

From Gaza to Kansas City: Yes Photos, But So Much More!

When it comes to the processing of a photo, our concern is primarily the motive and the aesthetic, political and historical effect of the result.

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Race Focus Photo February 20, 2013

Visual Politics and the Border Fence: Still Everybody's Dog Whistle

Expect more photos of politicians clinging to that border like their very own security blanket … and the militarized zone that McCain insists it isn't.

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Photo February 19, 2013

Dying in Prison: Is there Hospice for the System Too?

This picture forces us to question whether there might somehow be a downslope to the prison industry's own life cycle.

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Media Focus Photo

Should Pistorius-Steenkamp Killing be a Newswire Showcase for T-and-A?

Isn't this "point of view" one of the factors that get these women killed in the first place?

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Photo February 18, 2013

Loss of Another Senate Moderate

As another moderate is driven to the sidelines, what we really deserve is a photo that illustrates the madness.

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Protest Headwear: From Pussy Riot to Palestine

As one of our main themes here is the evolution of protest -- and the news galleries are also filled with Fashion Week here and Fashion Week there -- I was wondering about your take on these photos of Pussy Riot and Palestinian protesters.

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World Press Photo '13: Flagging America?

The award does not do itself any favors by taking a more stereotyped view of the underside of America.

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