Plagiarism, fabrication, bias, fallacies. As we have seen, whether it's intentional misconduct or unintentional violations of sound journalistic practices, numerous ethical problems have the potential to exist when writing for print or broadcast news. Yet it's not just words that we have to be careful with, but photographs as well. Thanks to amazing software programs like Photoshop, it's incredibly easy to alter a photograph to make someone or something appear better (or worse). While that's fine for something like a senior picture, it's completely unethical to alter a photograph or video accompanying a news story. You wouldn't change someone's quote. Yet some people don't see anything wrong with changing a photograph. Remember, photojournalism must abide by the same ethical principles of truth and accuracy.
Recently political satirist and TV host Jon Stewart criticized Fox TV's Sean Hannity for playing with the facts, the visual facts that is. Click
here to watch the clip from the show. Pay close attention to the video and what Stewart is calling Hannity out for. (By the way, Hannity later apologized for what he called an "inadvertent mistake".)
Photo courtesy of mnstate.edu
If I get onto Newsprint, I plan on becoming a photojournalist myself because of my love of photography. I can never see myself doing anything like this. I mean, it just seems stupid. If you alter a video or add different aspects to a photograph, people are bound to notice and when they finally do, you'll be in big trouble. John Stewart was right to criticize Sean Hannity.
ReplyDeleteLaura N.
ReplyDeleteStewart notices that Hannity had some images that were not true and he also lied. Hannity said there were 20,000-45,000 people at this rally, when really only about 10,000 showed up. To make the rally seem like more people, Hannity actually took footage from the 9-12 rally a couple of months ago. The trees looked different than the footage seen before and the sky was even cloudy, compared to the clear autumn day you saw in the previous shot. The part at the end when they showed a scene from "300" obviously wasn't real, but was a bit of comedic relief. It is very suprising Hannity thought he could get away with this without anyone finding out.
Wow. I couldn't stop cracking up at this video because it was so ridiculous. I can't even comprehend how some one could so obviously use footage from a completely different event, lie about obvious facts, and then brush it off as an "inadverted mistake". I don't think I would have noticed it though, if I were just watching the footage on the news. I'd probably just think that they had shot the footage at diffent times of the day or something, not on completely different days for completely different events. Even though the average person might not recognize the lie, there are a bunch of people (like Jon Stewart) out there who would. So props to him poiting out Hannity's lie.
ReplyDeleteHannity's use of the video from September 12 is completely ridiculous. Did he not think about the obvious differences in the clips? Did he question his morals when using this video? By using this video, Hannity lied and gave false information about the rally to try to make it seem bigger. This makes it seem pretty bias, meaning that he might be a Republican who is against the health care bill and agrees with the views expressed at the rally. This is completely unacceptable in journalism. John Stewart did an excellent job in noticing the differences and putting a segment about it in his show.
ReplyDeleteWhat Hannity did was completely rediculous. By using a video from a completely different rally, it changes the news completely. Viewers will think that more people were there than there really were, giving them false information. Also, even if the average person does not notice the difference between the videos, someone will. I can't see how anybody could say that they used the wrong video by mistake when the videos are very different.
ReplyDeleteThis really startled me! To see that someone would, on a professional level, completely misuse and alter footage like this is upsetting. I'm surprised the supervisors of the station did not notice that the season completely changed in these two clips! This changed the news completely. Also, it is hard to believe that Hannity used the footage "inadvertantly" when the footage was altered and was from so long ago.
ReplyDeleteI think it is so wrong to alter photos or videos. People are bound to notice especially if you are careless enough to use footage from different seasons like this video. It was such an obvious difference. I'm glad Jon Stewart called Hannity out on this. It was rediculus to see someone on a professional level do something as unprofessional as alter a video. What was meant to make them look more popular, made them look unprofessional.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree that professional companies like this should edit a video or photo to make it fit their story. Obviously it looks unprofessional and someone is bound to call you out on it. Just look at Jon Stewart! Editing something like that is wrong and is not taking responsible actions.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing other people's views on this.
Anyone who's done any video editing knows that such that the claim of being inadvertent is not credible-- anymore than somehow your splicing a paragraph from a ninth grade paper into a Brit Lit paper. It was done to amp up the "story" and it belongs as a mashup on Youtube rather than on a 24 hour news channel.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe that Hannity tried at this and thought that it would go unnoticed, especially when there are shows like The Daily Show and Colbert Report who watch news stories closely in order to get their own material and stories. It was pretty fantastic seeing Jon Stewart calling it out, especially when we live in a time where almost no images remain untouched or unaltered. I don't honestly think it was a mistake, and hopefully having his attempt at deciet brought to attention will encourage Hannity and other members of mainstream media to be more honest.
ReplyDeleteThis video shocked me because I don't understand how Hannity could put two different videos together and expect no one to recognize the difference between the two different times. Hannity tried to enhance the video and make it seem like there were more than 20,000 people in attendance rather than just the 10,000 that did. I do not believe something like this could merely be an "inadvertent mistake" because how could two clips from two days a couple months apart become joined. It is just not logical.
ReplyDeleteThis "inadvertent mistake" caused me to second guess Hannity's integrity. What he did was ridiculous and is not something that I would expect from a professional. Altering photographs is unethical and unprofessional. This "mistake" was very convenient since it was working in favor of Hannity, and it is to obvious for it to be a mistake. These pictures resemble Highlights magazines' "Can you spot the differnce?". It is ridiculous for anyone to expect the reading public to allow these two distinctly different photos to go unnoticed. This "inadvertent msitake" was juvenille and comprimised Hanntiy's integrity.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe anyone would alter a video or picture! That video actually made me crack up and really look at all the wrong details about it. I think it is completely wrong to alter a video or photo because the public does not want to be lied to! It was ridiculos for someone to do that to a video to show something that never happened! Now i will actually be more cautious when i watch the news and looks for those same kind of visual facts.
ReplyDeleteIf Stewart hadn't pointed out the fact that false video was used in this news cast, and I was just watching it on the news I probably wouldn't have noticed. And I'm sure that's the case for a lot of other viewers out there, that's the scariest part. There have probably been more "accidents" with jumbled up facts that viewers and reporters have just breezed by, unaware. And to think that the editor of that station would allow that to happen?! They must feel like a fool to not be able to catch that big of a mistake. This act was not an "inadvertent mistake", it was unprofessional and unethical.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first watched this, I didn't really catch the change. Something seems off, but I didn't realize it until Stewart re-wound it. After that, I was really shocked that they would try to splice the footage together. While Stewart mocks the clip, it really is a serious thing that people who control what we see everyday and what we think about it are being so blatantly dishonest. Many other news networks probably do this too, but that doesn't make it anymore right.
ReplyDeleteWithout Jon Stewart pointing out the differences in the clip, I probably would not of noticed them. This is probably what Sean Hannity had in mind when he altered the clips or had somebody alter them. This was really upsetting and disturbing to me because Hannity had the audacity to deceive people who were just seeking for news and truthful facts. The way he manipulated technology to complete such a dishonest task is just sickening. I am glad he was called out on it and he probably feels "stupid" for what he did. It is also sad to see that he took the time to look for another clip with a big crowd in D.C. so he could morph the real video and the video from another date together. Taking time out for an evil deed is terrible, especially when your action will reach millions of people. Lastly, the fact that someone could tell the differences in the videos shows that Hannity is not as smart as he thinks and even he could not outsmart Jon Stewart, and others who might have seen the difference. As long as keen eyes are around, it's apparent you cannot get away with much.
ReplyDeleteI would ask Hannity how he thought people wouldn't notice his use of the same clips from two months previous at Glenn Beck's rally and how did he think he could get away with this? John Stewart packs up facts agaisnt Hannity quoting the Washington Post and citing the video from Glenn Beck. I think that's ridiculuous of Hannity, but I'm glad there are people like John Stewart who can call these people out, but lighten the mood at the same time. Kudos to Stewart. As for Hannity, better luck next time?
ReplyDeleteAt first glance, I didn't really notice the change between the two clips which is what Hannity was trying to do. To think that he thought he would be able to get away with this when people like Jon Stewart are out there looking closely at video footage just seems ridiculous to me. I think editing multimedia in professional journalism is wrong and immoral. People depend on journalists and reporters to be honest and give the facts. Also, Hannity calling it an "inadvertent mistake" seems unethical to me because the videos are very different, and he had to have known what he was doing.
ReplyDeleteThe first time watching the clip Hannity gave to describe 20,000-45,000 people i didnt notice a differnece. when the clip was shown again and the seasons pointed out, i relaized how easy it is for a news station to slip alerations in. I myself change personal photos. For example if i take a picture and you cant see the faces because the room was dark, i will lighten it. Although, reading this article made me think how changing a photo or video can alter an entire news story or change the idea behind it compleltley. I am glad i was exposd to this, because it reenforces "you should believe everything you see(read)". It is unfortuante that this lesson has to be brought up when a major news station tries to pass something that doesnt exist.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I watched this video, I actually noticed no difference. Once John Stewart pointed out the two different seasons, it was all I could think about. This instantly made me question the credibility of the network. With all the editors a big news company should have, how did it go unnoticed? Or did they leave it is hopes no one would see it? People can lose respect for news organizations who alter photos, or lie in their news coverage. Suddenly, you lose all interest in the actually story, and all focus moves to the altered photos.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe that someone would do something like that and think that they wouldn't get caught. Obviously they were two completely different days and someone was bound to figure that out. I think that John Stewart was really funny in pointing it out but I also am glad that he did point it out because I would like to know when someone was making up facts. I think that even though he was a comedian he did a good job of pointing out poor journalism.
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