Search - Reading The Pictures

Media Focus Photo January 14, 2015

Front Pages: German Papers Point to Israel-Palestine in Paris Attacks

A feature in the German papers jumped out that made the erasure by the Orthodox paper that much more awkward and ironic.

Media Focus Photo January 13, 2015

Je Suis Photo-Op: On the Paris World Leader Solidarity Fail

What's noteworthy about this photograph is how quickly world leaders can come together when it's time to jump on the visual bandwagon.

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Our Take on the New Charlie Hebdo "Muhammad" Cover

The first Charlie Hebdo post-attack cover is brilliant and humane on two scores, one that is obvious and the other that is less so.

Campaign '16 Photo January 11, 2015

A Real Cowboy: Delicious Chris Christie Swipe at NFL Playoff Game Via Dallas Morning Newsk

I can't tell whether or how much the Dallas Morning News or the photographer also saw this as ironic, political or character branding.

International Focus Photo January 9, 2015

Yes, More of This

On the scenes of fraternity and solidarity across France in the days following the Hedbo attack.

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You Know What's Strange About The Viral Photo of the Blacked-Out Eiffel Tower?

It makes you wonder (or makes me wonder, anyway) about rhythms in the universe.

illustration Photo January 8, 2015

The Cartoonist's Response to the Terrorist Attack on Charlie Hebdo (and How Hard it is to Take a Joke)

The sphere was awash in cartoons and illustrations yesterday in response to the lethal attack on the French political cartoonist and satirist publication, Charlie Hebdo. This is a summary of the primary examples with some thoughts.

Ferguson MO Photo January 7, 2015

David Butow, Ferguson and the Crisis, in Our Media Culture, of Seeing What's There

The events are so complicated, so charged with racial history and people's personal experience that it's like the movie Rashomon, there is no single correct way of looking at them.

International Focus Photo January 6, 2015

Sarah Stacke's "Love From Manenberg": Making Strong Bones

Many media outlets are not addressing gang violence in the Flats because of oversaturation and reader fatigue. In the grand scheme of South Africa, violence in the Flats is overlooked by much of the population, politicians included.

Photo January 5, 2015

A Year of Looking at News Photos

If you missed some or many of these entries, here are the pieces that kept visual media honest, made us all look deeper and longer at worthy images, and honored and took joy in the profession.

Militarism Focus Photo January 4, 2015

Turning Backs On Turned Backs: The Second Funeral of Gunned Down NYPD Officers

If the NYPD compromised a second funeral of its gunned down colleagues, the media enabled them.

Business Focus Photo January 3, 2015

The Rare Artful Stock Exchange Photo

An impressionistic picture from the trading floor invites feedback.

Afghanistan Photo January 2, 2015

America in the Age of Ferguson: A Child's Letter to Troops in Afghanistan

If the collection captures the day-to-day life of the war machine at holiday time, what it more inadvertently offers is food-for-thought about the country's social priorities and racial character.

Protest Focus Photo January 1, 2015

Here’s Hoping for Different Fireworks in '15

On the first day of this new year, let's hope for more constructive engagements and enlightened outcomes.

BAGannouncements Photo

Happy View Year from The Bag!

We at The Bag wish you all a year of thoughtfulness, peace and visual insight.

Terror Focus Photo December 30, 2014

More Best Photos: Alec Soth's Red and White School Shooting Drill

Without a human face to be seen, these two colors end up congealing awkwardly around so much hair and so many tangled body parts, just daring the imagination to yield to their visceral pull.

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Congress - Dysfunctional Pictures of the Year

If our broken political system represents perhaps the greatest threat to the American enterprise, why wouldn't this debacle be the source of endless feature images and photo galleries of shame?