Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Seeing Double



Something strange is going on here.

Charlotte Sun's Photoshop wizard, Josh Olive, altered a picture taken six months ago by Sarah Coward. His cutline for yesterday's (April 7) edition, right, reports "East Elementary School fifth-grader Kyle DeVries runs off some post-lunchtime energey Wednesday near the school's bus ramp."

We don't think so. Compare the doctored photograph with the original, left. (Actually, at this point,we don't know what's original -- so much for trusting what we read in the newspaper.)

The October 19, 2007 cutline reported "East Elementary School fifth-grader Kyle DeVries runs off some post-lunchtime energy recently near the school's bus ramp."

Shame on everyone involved in this fiction -- and the blatant lie that it represents something that happened "Wednesday."


P.S. and the new "design" that scatters all that distracting stuff around the banner is sad and sorry. It cheapens the product.

Real or The Onion?...

Local couple proud of traveling family members

By SUSAN ERWIN Englewood Herald Editor

Englewood residents Carl and Jean Smith are proud that their
great-granddaughter, Maddy Kammerer, 16, enjoys going on exciting travel excursions with her grandparents, Hank and Shirleen Smith.

Last summer, the trio experienced the enjoyment of exploring Alaska.

Hank and Shirleen Smith drove their RV (recreational vehicle) from San Antonio, Texas through Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska. They stayed and explored the state for four months.

A few weeks into their trip, the couple flew Maddy up to Anchorage for two weeks to join them on the adventure. While in Alaska, they visited Denali National Park and saw the awe-inspiring 20,320 foot Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America.

5 comments:

  1. Well, OWW, why bother taking a new photo? It's far easier, and cheaper, to just use the same ones over and over again. In fact, it appears the Sun is big on recycling as the entire package is virtually the same.

    What a sad excuse for a newspaper. I am thoroughly embarrassed that I once worked there.

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  2. Nearly the same packages, yes, except for the quality of the reporting. If you go back and compare my comments on Oct. 19, 2007 with the yesterday's AP story, you'll see all the ways the local reporter failed are addressed in the AP story. You know, the saddest part is it costs no more to write a thorough story than it does to write a sadly inadequate one -- at least at the local-community news level we're looking at here.

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  3. Two observations:
    (1)There's a big chance that the child doesn't even live in the area anymore. (2)If he does, I wonder if his parents have given permission for their child's image to be "doctored" and used as an illustration in this commercial enterprise called the Charlotte Sun.

    Keep up the good work, OWW.

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  4. Oops. Fact errors! The illustrator's name is Josh Olive and the photojournalist's name is Sarah Coward.

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  5. Thanks! I'll make the correction -- and tip my hat to your close reading. Everyone needs an editor -- everyone.

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