Michael Shaw Archives
5,644 Posts
illustration Photo January 23, 2020

Impeachment Trial Media Blackout

Not only is the media resorting to illustrators to capture the proceedings of the presidential impeachment trial, the view of the audience is also limiting.

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Eco Watch Photo January 22, 2020

The Trump – Greta Thunberg Photo Crossings

Once again, young Greta Thunberg and Donald Trump find their way into the same international meeting photo. As the climate degenerates, we can expect more.

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Chatting the Pictures Video January 13, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: Australia on Fire; Suleimani Assassination; Church Full of Guns

This week, we look at key photos from the Australian fires, America's assassination of Iran's military chief, and a photo-illustration of guns in church.

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Photo January 8, 2020

Mitch Epstein’s Pipeline Activist

Epstein's photo of Pennsylvania's Ashton Clatterbuck captures the urgency of the climate crisis, and it's appropriately fitting.

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Photo January 6, 2020

The Symbolism of the Pope Slapping a Woman on New Years

Who would have imagined the biggest New Years social media drama would involve the pope slapping a well-wisher in St. Peter’s Square?

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Chatting the Pictures Video December 8, 2019

Chatting the Pictures Year End: Kamala Harris; Firestorm Tree; Greta Thunberg at Standing Rock

Welcome to a special, year end edition of “Chatting the Pictures” focusing on pictures of the year and the theme of exposure.

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Photo December 1, 2019

Our Visual Appeal: Help Support Reading the Pictures

This holiday season, Reading the Pictures is asking for your support. In these divided times, bringing clarity to media imagery is as important as ever.

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International Focus Photo November 23, 2019

Turkey’s Syria Invasion and Visual Media Bias

Media bias usually has to do with what's in the frame--not whether there is one. Turkey's Syria invasion is an example of bias for only showing one side.

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Chatting the Pictures Video November 14, 2019

Chatting the Pictures: Impeachment Special

This week, we discuss four great impeachment photos. They cover Trump and Zelensky, the Democrats and the media spectacle, the witnesses, and the evidence.

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Chatting the Pictures Video November 2, 2019

Chatting the Pictures: Wildfire Wedding, Impeachment’s Woman in Blue, Trump’s Raid Dog Retweet

This week, we look at a viral wedding portrait from a California firestorm, a divine impeachment photo, and a Trump retweet of the ISIS raid dog

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Eco Watch Photo October 29, 2019

Climate Crisis: Are the Animals Mad at Us?

Between the heat and the photography, it’s hard not to process this as a portrait of six scorched and very pissed off water buffalo.

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President Obama Photo October 27, 2019

The Trump Vs. Obama Situation Room Photos

As soon as the White House announced the death of Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Trump and Obama Situation Room photos became historical twins.

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Chatting the Pictures Video October 19, 2019

Chatting the Pictures: Trump Pelosi Syria Blow Up; Giuliani the Wise Guy; Turkey Invades

This week, we look at the viral White House Trump/Pelosi face-off, an impeachment-inspired Guiliani screenshot, and a photo from Turkey's Syria invasion.

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Eco Watch Photo

Creature from the Fossil Fuel Lagoon

Chavez's photo draws on fantasy and imagination and then combines those qualities with "human industry," in both senses of the term.

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International Focus Photo October 8, 2019

The Larger Reason China Wants to Strip Hong Kong Protesters of their Masks

By banning Hong Kong protesters from wearing face masks, China is also hoping to undermine the visual and the moral power of these disguises.

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Eco Watch Photo October 7, 2019

Apocalypse (Then and) Now: Climate Crisis Channels the Bomb

On one level, the poster is just another creative climate change warning. On another, though, it’s a memory jolt to the boomers.

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International Focus Photo October 2, 2019

Apartheid’s Legacy From Here: The Photo That Struck Me Most At Photoville

I'm sure this scene is more nuanced in South Africa. But to see a photo in America of black kids eyeballing a white kid is exceedingly rare.

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Chatting the Pictures Video September 25, 2019

Chatting the Pictures: Saudi Show & Tell; Migrants Captured in Cotton Field; Greta, Obama Fist Bump

This week, we look at a Saudi wreckage display, migrants apprehended in a Texas cotton field, and the Obama/Greta Thunberg fist bump.

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