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Editor and Publisher Smears Iwo Jima Picture, Compares to Staged Lebanon Pictures
By Greg Sheffield (Bio | Archive)
August 21, 2006 - 13:10 ET
Editor and Publisher magazine sees one of its duties as protecting the reputation of the journalism profession, even if it means bringing up flimsy evidence against the famous WWII Iwo Jima flag-raising picture, saying that photo faced "the same charges heard today, concerning 'staging.'"
But the E&P staff admits that the evidence is "flimsy" and mere "speculation." So why bring up such charges against one the most memorable events from the war? To score a point: "But as with most of the allegations today, the theories about the Rosenthal photo were based on flimsy evidence or speculation."
In other words: Conservatives, don't attack our industry's photographers, because your treasured war photo could be accused of the same thing.
The phenomenon of questioning war photos that seem too good to be true goes back long before the birth of blogs and the current controversy over pictures from Lebanon. It has even swirled around one of the most famous and honored war photos ever: the flag-raising at Iwo Jima during World War II captured by The Associated Press's Joe Rosenthal, who died yesterday.
Every few years, until recently, reports and rumors appeared that questioned the photo with some of the same charges heard today, concerning "staging." It was fueled by the fact that a smaller flag had been raised nearby earlier that day on Iwo Jima. But as with most of the allegations today, the theories about the Rosenthal photo were based on flimsy evidence or speculation.
This news article is a prime example of false news information and how journalists sometimes change stories around to raise debate. Of course this is the article that goes against the original one and proves that the original photo was taken by Joe Rosenthal and is the real photo that was not staged. The article, which was published in the Editor and Publisher magazine basically, stated that the Joe Rosenthal picture was staged and was not captured in real time, but as you read the article you will find out that it is all just speculation. The original Joe Rosenthal photo has claimed the title as one of the most famous WWII photos of all time.
I believe that this is why there is constant aggression towards this photo, and a journalist knows that a controversial story about American war history should cause quite a stir. Editor and Publisher magazine is a fairly large company with the ability to publish such a story. I believe that major magazine companies or any other media source use controversy to sell. They do this because they know what people like. People like to question things and companies know that, which is why it is consider a selling point. It is somewhat sad that in order to make money one must desecrate an honored war photo. I am no considerable fan of the United States but that photo is a piece of history and I believe it should be just left alone. Staged or not staged.
The funny thing is, is that The Editor & Publisher Magazine is a USA print media business news magazine, which basically means that an American wrote the article against the historical photo.
What is this world coming to?
Works Cited
Sheffield, Greg. "Editor and Publisher Smears Iwo Jima Picture, Compares to Staged Lebanon Pictures." Editor and Publisher magazine August 21,2006: n. pag. Web. 9 Oct 2009. <http://newsbusters.org/node/7097>
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