Dear friends and colleagues,

Thank you for participating in my surveys.

I completed my research and I published my thesis.
Please contact me if you have questions and if you are interested in my findings.

Regards,
Gordana Icevska
gordana@ryerson.ca

Research: Shooting The Truth

Welcome to my project!

You are invited to participate in a survey that focuses on alterations photojournalists make to the images published in the media. The survey is part of a research project that tries to find out photographers’ approaches towards photo alterations, as well as audience attitudes towards these changes. Your identity will be kept confidential.

Please click here to take audience survey. Enjoy it!

If you are photojournalist or photo editor please use the password that has been provided to you to access the survey, or contact me to obtain it.

Please click here to take photojournalists survey. Enjoy it!

If you have questions about my research please contact me at:

Gordana Icevska
gordana@ryerson.ca
1-416-545-0096.

If you have questions regarding your rights as a human subject and participant in this study, you may contact the Ryerson University Research Ethics Board for information at:

Research Ethics Board

c/o Office of the Vice President, Research and Innovation

Ryerson University

350 Victoria Street

Toronto, ON M5B 2K3

1-416-979-5042

Before you start answering the questions you will have to read and understand the consent form. Please contact me if you need more information about the consent, research or questions.

The results will be used for my MA thesis “Shooting the truth”. I am a graduate student in Communication and Culture, a joint programme of two Canadian universities (http://ryerson.ca/graduate/programs/comcult/), Ryerson University and York University. I also have extended experience in journalism and teaching journalism. If you need more details about my work and background please check About me or contact me and I will send you my detailed resume.

If you are interested, it will be my pleasure to provide you with the results of the survey and findings of my research.

I appreciate your help.

Thank you very much.

More details about the project

My research will focus on the manipulation photojournalists make to the images that are supposed to deliver news and present the reality/truth. In the 19^th century liberal retouching was used in order to have photography accepted as art (to look like a painting). From the late 20^th century until today, technology allows wide range of changes to images and these changes have been used extensively, for both artistic and news photography.

My research will try to answers the following questions:

1) How does photojournalism manipulate the truth?

2) How often do photojournalists change images/content on their news photographs? Do they consider this ethical/unethical?

3) Is it ethical to make any changes to news photography?

4) How these changes affect audience trust in the truth portrayed by the images they view?

This will be achieved through:

- Comparative analysis of the work of three photographers/photojournalists with different approaches: Andre Kertesz, Henry Cartier-Bresson, Sebastiao Salgado and Eugene Smith.

- Examining the recent examples of photo manipulation in media including staging, using effects and digital alterations.

- Investigating if the media have policy/codes of ethic for editing, altering and creating photographs and visual elements in their news coverage.

- Survey and interviews with photographers and photo editors about their approach towards alterations and editing.

- Survey of the audience perceptions of changing journalistic photographs.

If you need more information about the project or if you have questions, please contact me.