The Change Mariner

Iraqi Prisioners And The Impact of Digital Photography

My Way News:

The explosive photos of abuse in an Iraqi prison drive home a defining fact of 21st century life - that the pervasiveness of digital photography and the speed of the Internet make it easier to see into dark corners previously out of reach for the mass media.

Some of the most shocking or memorable photos from the Iraq war were almost certainly taken by soldiers or government contractors - and zipped around the world with an ease that never existed in the days of film.

"With the technology now, the amateur photographer is as capable as a professional journalist and is operating with the same tools: Digital camera, laptop and an Internet connection," said Keith W. Jenkins, photo editor of the Washington Post Magazine.

"The embedded process was supposed to give government a better handle on what journalists were doing, but now you have this whole rogue operation of civilians with digital cameras who have access to things the media don't," he said.

Photos from Abu Ghraib prison of hooded, naked Iraqi men piled in a pyramid near a grinning American captor and a hooded man standing with wires running from his outstretched arms have caused an international uproar since they first appeared on CBS last week.

Posted by Bob King at May 7, 2004 08:16 AM | TrackBack
Related Categories: Quadrant - Technological | Theme - 'Digital Impact'

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