3 ms·

Photo choice is one of the most effective editorial tools a publication has. For example, do they show a photo of the person as a child, wearing a suit, or cas

Photo choice is one of the most effective editorial tools a publication has. For example, do they show a photo of the person as a child, wearing a suit, or casual clothes posed with a weapon? Each is technically the same person, but all will prejudice your view towards the subject.

Steko 10y ago
This photo from Bloomberg photographer David Paul Morris has been used in several dozen stories about Theranos over the last 11 plus months. Sometimes HN tries to be too clever and I don't mean to direct that at you but basically every sibling and cousin comment in this subthread. HN Challenge: next Theranos thread don't upvote comments about CEO's appearance.
- protomyth 10y ago
  I actually don't care about her appearance, and it's not being too clever. Editors pick specific photos for reasons often subconscious ones. You can look at a photo used in a story and see the basic prejudice of the editorial. Ignoring information provided is a poor way to evaluate the source. That the same photo is used often is a data point. Thinking everything is about a woman's appearance in a photo ignores a whole class of information. Your HN Challenge is a call for ignorance which I'll skip.
Mithaldu 10y ago
Editorializing (i.e. opinions) should stay in the opinion pieces, not be mixed in with reporting of facts. It calls the trustworthiness of the entire rest of the article in question. (Although i guess it's kinda nice if it's done blatantly so you already know in advance the article is particularly untrustworthy.)
- protomyth 10y ago
  > Editorializing (i.e. opinions) should stay in the opinion pieces, not be mixed in with reporting of facts. preaching to the choir > It calls the trustworthiness of the entire rest of the article in question. (Although i guess it's kinda nice if it's done blatantly so you already know in advance the article is particularly untrustworthy.) In a lot of ways it is subconscious, but not always. If you take a objective view and look at US Presidential 2016 race articles, you get a pretty good feel for the base opinion of the editors from the picture they use of the candidates. Every news outlet has a prejudice, and I find the choice of images to be one of the easy ways to communicate that to you. If you look for it, you can gear your reaction to the information provided.

Steko 10y ago

This photo from Bloomberg photographer David Paul Morris has been used in several dozen stories about Theranos over the last 11 plus months. Sometimes HN tries to be too clever and I don't mean to direct that at you but basically every sibling and cousin comment in this subthread. HN Challenge: next Theranos thread don't upvote comments about CEO's appearance.

protomyth 10y ago
I actually don't care about her appearance, and it's not being too clever. Editors pick specific photos for reasons often subconscious ones. You can look at a photo used in a story and see the basic prejudice of the editorial. Ignoring information provided is a poor way to evaluate the source. That the same photo is used often is a data point. Thinking everything is about a woman's appearance in a photo ignores a whole class of information. Your HN Challenge is a call for ignorance which I'll skip.

Mithaldu 10y ago

Editorializing (i.e. opinions) should stay in the opinion pieces, not be mixed in with reporting of facts. It calls the trustworthiness of the entire rest of the article in question. (Although i guess it's kinda nice if it's done blatantly so you already know in advance the article is particularly untrustworthy.)

protomyth 10y ago
> Editorializing (i.e. opinions) should stay in the opinion pieces, not be mixed in with reporting of facts. preaching to the choir > It calls the trustworthiness of the entire rest of the article in question. (Although i guess it's kinda nice if it's done blatantly so you already know in advance the article is particularly untrustworthy.) In a lot of ways it is subconscious, but not always. If you take a objective view and look at US Presidential 2016 race articles, you get a pretty good feel for the base opinion of the editors from the picture they use of the candidates. Every news outlet has a prejudice, and I find the choice of images to be one of the easy ways to communicate that to you. If you look for it, you can gear your reaction to the information provided.