Susan Kirkland (bio)

One thing you may not know about Mr. Johnson is that he's the same guy who first questioned the authenticity of CBS anchor, Dan Rather’s source material regarding George Bush’s military service. He noticed it was typed in a font not available at the time the letter was purportedly sent. Only one of “those graphics people” would spot that—that's right, he's one of us. If you get a chance to see some of Hajj’s questionable photographs, it’s pretty obvious they’ve been doctored; anybody from the planet GRAPHOS can see that.A lot of people are wondering what motivated Hajj, but since he isn’t answering his messages, we can only speculate. Hmmm . . . no foolin’ Well, let's get busy.

Was he just uneducated in the ethics of photojournalism? Uh-oh, another driver on the road without a license. Many freelancers who are self-taught, winging it or wannabees don’t have the solid foundation of a formal education. Some fringe dwellers sell their services on the cheap, usually because they don’t have to figure the cost of their education into the overhead. So bargain hunters are taking a risk when they use the low baller—they might not get what they expect. And then again, they might get a whole lot more. The lesson is you get what you pay for, so pay for a professional who comes packed with ethics and trade practices, something reputable media sources need in our reality show shaken world. They are committed to producing their best work no matter what their personal feelings are; about the client, the job or the politics.

In an interview with New York Times (NYT) reporters Katharine Seelye and Julie Bosman and available via CNET, Jonathan Klein, the chief executive of Getty Images said media must "employ people of integrity, and if you find infractions, not only take action, but take visible action." That’s well and good, but it’s after the fact and that won’t do a thing to restore your credibility. Paul Holmes, a senior Reuters editor told the NYT “it was handled by someone on a very busy day at a more junior level than we would wish." Who’s minding the store? Reuters delegated responsibility for their reputation to the hourly help—fire that decision maker.

Mr. Holmes also told the NYT this aspect of the problem was the result of human error, not malicious intent. I have to wonder if like my dentist, Hajj decided he could edge out the competition through unethical leverage of the facts. Photojournalism is documentation, and enhancing documentation, like enhancing scientific results, discredits not only the product but the publisher. Whereas it was common practice for DaVinci and Raphael to paint their patrons minus the flaws; photojournalists do not produce art. In fact, adding extra flares to a photograph renders it valueless as documentation of current events, even if Hajj says it was an accidental byproduct of removing a speck of dust. Hmmm . . . no foolin’

But then again, maybe Lebanese citizen Adnan Hajj, like the nine-one-one terrorists operating under the guise of student visas, used his job as photojournalist to serve his country’s propaganda needs. Acting as a patriot, did Hajj decide to enhance the Lebanese position as underdog and inflame emotions worldwide? Politician Adolf Hitler used propaganda to sway public opinion and turn the tide against his opposition with great success. Did Hajj have two employers; one paying for photojournalism and one paying for photo-illustration? It wouldn’t be the first time a professional tool like Photoshop was turned into a political weapon.

But, hey, Mike DeWine (R-OH) summed it up nicely after his doctored shots aired (in spite of the voiceover “I’m Mike DeWine and I approved this message”). The Ohio Congressman shrugged off that expensive retouching with “I can’t tell you why graphics people do things.” Hmmm . . . no foolin’ Maybe DeWine and Hajj ought to get together and help each other come up with better excuses.

Thanks to our friends at The New York Times, CNET and especially Eric Peterson at Experts-Exchange.

Over and out from the planet GRAPHOS.

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