Why your Choice of Image Matters

It’s never just a picture, especially in the media. There is so much more to it than just placing it as a nice addition to the text. When it comes to the images to support an article there are many choices to be made: Is it ethical to use this sort of photograph (remember the drowned Syrian toddler – trigger warning: death)? Does it make the article seem more interesting? Does it add to the overall message the author is trying to convey? And so on.

Ideally, the author would be completely objective but let’s be frank, this is a standard that’s impossible to live up to – every choice of word, topic, perspective and, yes, photographs are influenced by one’s own opinion. To those interested in the journalist’s role in the media, might want to take a look at the Gatekeeping Theory. Now it would be nice to be able to just step back and say “I can’t help it, I’m making those decisions subconsciously” but it is – and should not be – that easy. It is in the author’s responsibility to maintain the utmost possible level of what we like to call objectivity while also questioning one’s own choices.

Let’s take a look at an easy example. The media loves scandals and everything outrageous since those topics are what lures readers in – and celebrities are the perfect foundation for articles following the “oh my god did you hear about…!” pattern.

Remember the Nicki Minaj vs. Taylor Swift feud? Which was never actually what one could call a feud, it wasn’t even a serious dispute – it was nothing but a simple misunderstanding that both women solved in a very mature way. But still, it was all over Twitter, the newspapers… It’s quite possible that many people didn’t even bother to read those articles, they just read the headlines and saw, guess what!, the image going along with it. And interestingly the type of images chosen was most often something along the lines of what billboard did:

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Here we have Taylor looking rather serious but not at all aggressive while Nicki looks really annoyed and as if she’s about to say something, side-eyeing Taylor. Mixed together with popping (“aggressive”) colours and the word “VS.” suggesting a real fight this image creates the impression of Nicki attacking poor, passive Taylor. Yes, it is not stated clearly in the headline but the choice of image already tries to bias the reader into thinking this.

On the other hand, The Atlantic posted an article on this just a day later taking a whole other position:

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Here we have Taylor and Nicki standing hand in hand with their back to the reader, suggesting support, equality, partnership. Plus, when taking a look at the headline it’s easy to see that The Atlantic author tries to focus on the real cause of the misunderstanding of those two – billboard mentioned the VMAs, as well, but it does not take as much prominence.

And while all this may seem way too subtle and trivial to some, it does have a huge impact on how an article and thus the respective event are perceived by media consumers. While the author of this billboard article would never say that they are racist, they are indeed supporting the racist stereotype of “the AngryBlack Woman” by using this image.

In the meantime, The Atlantic author remained respectful and more “objective” by placing the emphasis on the root of the problem. And thus they also support both women in their common fight as feminists striving for equality.