Gov. Jon Corzine's office is unhappy with the Asbury Park Press over a Sunday front page photo illustration (above) showing Corzine, in a hat and tweed coat, opening one side of his coat to reveal cars pinned to the inner lining, like a peddler offering trinkets, Editor & Publisher says today. It accompanied a story about the Democratic governor's controversial plan to borrow money against the state's toll roads, E&P says. Corzine's office said it made the governor look "sinister.""We weren't attempting to show the governor in any kind of sinister light," Executive Editor Skip Hidlay told E&P. "We were looking for a way to illustrate a very complex problem that is difficult to show visually." (See the Press' Sunday front page in PDF here, at the Newseum's site.)
In print, the Press labeled the image a photo illustration. But that credit appeared at the bottom of the page, well away from the illustration. Seems to me the two should have been closer together to avoid any confusion. (Online today, the credit appears right under the image.) Gannett photo editors and page designers: What do you think? E-mail me, please; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the sidebar, upper right. Or leave a note in the comments section, below.
[Hat tip, Romenesko; image: Newseum]
I say Corzine is a public figure and fair game to whatever the public thinks, positive or negative. And as for freedom of the press: well, we all know that story. Believe me, the general NJ population feels quite negative about Corzine and I don't believe any newspaper illustration is going to change that one way or the other.
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