Jackson, Miss. | A handout photo, ethics -- and the demands for 'unique, high-impact local journalism'

When it comes to real news -- especially on hot-button subjects -- quality media outlets use their own staff or professional freelance photographers to make sure they're getting the full picture, both literally and figuratively. To do otherwise might compromise a news outlet's integrity.

Syrian rebel video screenshot; watch it.

Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances. In the Syrian conflict, major news organizations including The New York Times have relied on YouTube video posted by rebel groups because journalists aren't allowed in the country. But the NYT and others usually disclose the source of the video, explain why it's being used, and note that its veracity can't be 100% confirmed.

I'm hard-pressed, however, to imagine the extenuating circumstances that led Mississippi's Clarion-Ledger last Wednesday to use a handout photo to illustrate a story on perhaps the most contentious issue in the nation: abortion.

A 10-paragraph story
That day, the Jackson paper published a short article (online, at least) under the headline, "Ambulance called to Mississippi's only abortion clinic." It had only a Clarion-Ledger staff byline. Here are the first three paragraphs in their entirety:

Around 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday an ambulance was called to the state’s only abortion clinic.

“We understand that a female patient was taken by ambulance to UMC,” said Dana Chisholm, president of Pro Life Mississippi.

The Clarion-Ledger reached out to Jackson Women’s Health Organization owner Diane Derzis but she declined to comment.

Lots of background
What followed were seven paragraphs of background material that, although helpful to a first-time reader, did not contain what an editor of mine would call "new news."

A photo without IDs.

But what drew my attention -- and that of a Gannett Blog reader -- was the accompanying photo. In it, a reader can just barely make out a patient covered in a green sheet being wheeled away. There are five other people in the photo, but it's nearly impossible to see their faces; three of them have their backs to the camera.

Violating a cardinal rule in journalism, the cutline doesn't identify any of the people by name. It only says: "A patient is loaded in to an ambulance at Mississippi's only abortion clinic."

And then there's the credit line: "Pro Life Mississippi/Special to the Clarion-Ledge[r.]"

Although Derzis, the clinic owner, declined to comment for the paper, she did speak to the Jackson Free Press for its story the next day. She called the paper's coverage an example of "unprofessional journalistic ethics."

The Free Press said it e-mailed Clarion-Ledger City Editor Sam Hall for a comment, but got nothing back before press time.

Questions, but few answers
I don't know why the paper published the story or the photo.

Many of my readers may be tempted to say that understaffed newsrooms are forced to rely more and more on citizen journalists and photographers for freebie photos and stories to keep websites fresh, and broadcasts and news pages filled with local content. Desperate editors resort to content they'd never consider a few years before.

It's worth noting that a year ago, the Clarion-Ledger advertised for columnists who would fill a position that it called a "labor of love." In other words, they wouldn't get paid. That ad came after a round of buyouts in February 2012 that targeted about 20% of what was then a 50-person newsroom. This is at a paper with current weekday circulation of 54,000.

Now, other readers might say this was just a poor news decision, one that can't be justified by any amount of cutbacks. The editors should have just used something else.

But what?
A wire-service story without any local interest? Generic features on health, food, and sports supplied by the remains of what used to be called Gannett News Service?

A reader tells me that Kate Marymont, who leads Corporate's News Department, sent a memo to editors last week as newspapers across the company were conducting another round of hundreds of layoffs and other job reductions. Dated Tuesday, the memo says:

"Going forward, we know editors face challenges in meeting the content needs of our print and digital readers. To support your efforts, we are launching several content initiatives.

"All are aimed at giving you ready-to-use national content so that your teams can focus entirely on the unique, high-impact local journalism needed to compete in today's crowded media world."

And I think I'll just leave it at that.

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Wilmington | Page One pic shows 'gang bang' sign

Screenshot from the Newseum shows offensive pink sign.

In a slip some Gannett Bloggers will blame on consolidating page design at central hubs, The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., published a Page One photo this morning about a gay marriage rally that included a participant carrying a sign reading, "I'm here for the gang bang."

The sign, in pink, appears in the background; click on the image, above, for a bigger, more readable view.

In the online version of the accompanying story, editors published a different photo by the same photographer.

The photo recalls a similar one that appeared on an inside page of The Cincinnati Enquirer in April 2012. That one, also taken at a gay-rights rally, showed a sign with the word "fuck" on it. The page was spotted early in the run, and many copies were destroyed before they were distributed.

I don't know whether the Wilmington paper caught the photo in time to prevent full distribution.

[Photo detail: Newseum; see all Gannett front pages today]

USAT | A provocative choice for front page photo

It would be fascinating to learn more about USA Today's decision to feature so prominently a photo of two men kissing on the front page of this morning's edition. Has the paper done this before?

The cutline says: "After the Supreme Court decision, Paul Katami, right, asks his partner, Jeff Zarrillo, to marry him."

[Image: photo by J. Scott Applewhite of the Associated Press, via Newseum; see all today's Gannett front pages.]

Cincy | Here's the now-famous 'f-ck' photograph

That's from The Cincinnati Enquirer page last Sunday that included a photo of a protester carrying a sign with the word "fuck" on it. (I've circled the sign.) A Gannett Blog reader gave me a copy today.

The image is hard to see here, of course, because this is a photo of a page from an early press run. (Click on the image for a bigger, somewhat more-readable view.)

The page was spotted early in the run, and many copies were destroyed before they were distributed. Still, it caused a great deal of consternation in the newsroom, and prompted this memo from Editor Carolyn Washburn.

"We stopped the presses to change the photo and threw out thousands of papers still sitting at our dock," she wrote. "Unfortunately a few thousand papers had already gone out to carriers. It was caught on the press and replated, but it still went out to several thousand homes."

Cutlines Only | An intriguing photo, and a question

A photo of Scott Jones and Alex Thomas sharing a kiss during last week's rioting in Vancouver, British Columbia, went viral on the Internet.

MSNBC unravels the mystery of what happened that night. And Anonymous@7:39 a.m. wonders: "Why didn't USA Today have this 'Riot Romeo' story? It's all over the Web and on the front page of The New York Times."

Getty's Richard Lam took the photo. Here's this morning's NYT, with its story circled:

[Image: NYT, Newseum]

Tucson | New Giffords pics by ex-Citizen photog

P.K. Weis, who worked at the Tucson Citizen for 36 years until Gannett closed the paper in 2009, took the photos of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords at her staff's request. The photos, released today, were made May 17 at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, the day before Giffords had a cranioplasty to further repair damage inflicted Jan. 8 by a would-be assassin in Tucson, Ariz. These are the first clear photos of Giffords taken since the shooting.

In a statement posted to a Giffords Facebook page, Weis said: “Any photographer in the country would have loved the opportunity to take these pictures and I was delighted to be asked. I’ve known Gabby for more than a decade and her staff asked me to do it because she wanted someone who was not a stranger -- someone she would be comfortable around."

Weis, now with SouthwestPhotoBank.com, was the Citizen's photo editor for 30 year.

Satisfying 'public curiosity'
Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, decided to make the photos public with hopes the pictures will help her avoid the glare of camera lenses when she begins outpatient therapy later this month, The Arizona Republic says in a story today.

The goal was to satisfy "public curiosity about her appearance," said C.J. Karamargin, Giffords' communications director. "We want to avoid a paparazzi situation," he told the paper.

Giffords now communicates most often in one- and two-word sentences and struggles to find the words she wants to say, Chief of Staff Pia Carusone told the Republic. She uses gestures and facial expressions to get her points across, and her staff and family sometimes "infer" what Giffords means, Carusone said.

Earlier: Cartoonist Matt Davies of The Journal News is finalist for one of this year's Pulitzer Prizes after Gannett lays him off from the Westchester, N.Y., daily.

Cutlines Only | Using pix of bin Laden's body?

As the White House moves toward releasing photos and video of Osama bin Laden's dead body, the Poynter Institute's Al Tompkins surveyed journalists on deciding whether to print or broadcast any images.

bin Laden

Kelly McBride, Poynter's senior faculty for ethics, reporting and writing, said newsrooms should consider many alternatives beyond simply whether to run graphic images and videos. “I would be thinking about the range of alternatives that I have, starting with: run it really big and [in] color on the front page or in a TV headline or run it small, run it inside, run it in black and white, run it only on the Internet."

White House officials said this morning that they were still deciding what to do, though they added that they were leaning toward releasing the photo, according to The New York Times. A senior administration official said the administration could release it as soon as today. But administration officials cautioned that they were still weighing the costs and benefits of such a move, the NYT says.

What is your newsroom's policy? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

USAT | Editor and a president walk into a bar . . .

Reuters moved this photo and the following caption last night: President Barack Obama chats with USA Today Editor John Hillkirk as first lady Michelle Obama listens to Saturday Night Live's entertainer Seth Meyers at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington.

Earlier: Why White House fete could be worse.

Tucson | Paper sells pix of alleged Giffords' gunman

Alternative weekly Phoenix NewTimes reported yesterday that the Tucson newspaper partnership co-owned by Gannett is selling photos of the alleged shooter of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords for $125 each. The photo was taken by an Arizona Daily Star photographer.

In fairness, NewTimes says: "The newspaper isn't trying to cash in on this morning's tragedy -- many newspapers sell photos taken in the community as a way to bring in some extra revenue. A photo taken by the paper at a Tucson book fair coincidentally shows the suspect, 22-year-old Jared Loughner -- and an 8x10 framed copy of the photo could be yours."

Related: Loughner's YouTube page

Cutlines Only | Fast times at USA Today High?

USAT staffers: Can you identify anyone in this photo?

Photographer captures moment of gun discovery

The Clarion-Ledger's Barbara Gauntt was on the scene to capture the watery recovery of a gun thought to be the weapon in Friday's shooting death of Jackson, Miss., police Officer Glenn Agee. Here's today's front page, with Gauntt's picture displayed across six columns. (Bigger view of photo.)

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[Image: Newseum]

Phoenix | Which of these 16 are illegal immigrants?

Starting July 29, Arizona's tough new immigration law requires police to question people if there's reason to suspect they're in the U.S. illegally.

But the measure has spurred worries of racial profiling, where cops would focus on people who look Hispanic, even though most Arizona Hispanics aren't illegal immigrants. "They are legal residents or U.S. citizens, many with roots dating back generations,'' The Arizona Republic says in a front page story today.

To illustrate the pitfalls of profiling, the Republic came up with an appropriately visual presentation: It photographed 16 people -- some, illegal immigrants, and some not -- and asked readers to sort them out. You can find the correct answers, using this Republic slideshow.

Here's the front page, from the Newseum's page one database:

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[Photos: top, the Republic's Mark Henle via Newseum]

Springfield | On Flag Day, 15 years' worth

The flag is lowered at Evangel University in Springfield, Mo., in this photograph by the Springfield News-Leader's Dean Curtis. For Flag Day, Curtis assembled 15 years' worth of his U.S. flag photos -- 90 in all -- and presented them (with captions for each one!) in a slideshow published today. (Related story.)

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Detroit | In grandchild's shocking death, grief

The caption from the Detroit Free Press's front page today says: Grandmother Mertilla Jones, left, cries as Dominika Stanley and Charles Jones, mother and father of 7-year-old Aiyana Jones, far right, quietly pray during a vigil Sunday night. Detroit police shot Aiyana when Mertilla and an officer tussled during a raid seeking the suspect in a teenager's death. Photo by Mandi Wright, Freep.

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[Image detail: Newseum]

Nashville | Post-flood aerials capture cleanup

The caption from The Tennessean's front page today says: Bellevue residents continue to clean out their homes after the flood. Many have already received aid from FEMA, a sharp contrast to the delays in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Photo by Shelley Mays, Tennessean. (More aerial photos.)

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[Image detail: Newseum]

Indy | After primary squeaker, Burton is ebullient

The cutline reads: U.S. Rep. Dan Burton, with his wife, Samia, celebrated his narrow victory Tuesday at Claddagh Irish Pub on the Northeastside. Matt Detrich, The Indianapolis Star. (Bigger view.)

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[Image: Newseum]

Nashville | As waters rise, dramatic flood photos

The Tennessean's caption this morning says: "Andrea Silva and Jamey Howell cling to Howell’s Jeep as flood waters overtake the vehicle at the intersection of Saundersville Road and Lower Station Camp Creek Road in Gallatin. 'They looked like they were struggling, and the next thing I know they were being swept away,'' said Rick Murray of Hendersonville, who took this photo. 'My head is spinning. I wish I hadn't seen that.' The teenagers were later rescued downstream."

The Gannett paper is all over a classic natural disaster: Record rainfall that's threatening the Opryland Hotel and other landmarks in Nashville, as the rain-swollen Cumberland River continues to rise. The storms that started Saturday have left 11 dead across the state. Here's today's front page (bigger view):

Related: Corporate pages for Gannett's four Tennessee newspapers

[Image: Newseum]

Jackson | Real-time citizen photojournalism

A slideshow by Flickr member Brad Fidler. See all the most recent photos tagged Michael Jackson.

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Cutlines only | The view from here

Tools of my new trade: the bookshelf next to my home office here in Spain. Of the three jester's hats manufactured by Elope, the one on the far right is for black-tie events. (Seriously -- this is Ibiza!)

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Cutlines Only | French sweets, to eat

[La Boulange: today on San Francisco's Union Street]

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