Many individuals in the realm of both news and photojournalism often speculate the question - “can a photograph change the world?” In today’s society, the answer to that question is evidently, yes. However, these images that have monstrous sway on the world may not always come from your local or national news provider. Actually, much of today’s photojournalism comes citizen journalists, or everyday people who capture images for a story of some sort. CNN actually calls these accounts iReports and publishes many citizen journalist’s works daily under that title. A CNN spokesperson described these reports as “the most developed and active citizen journalism platform of any news organization worldwide”.
Pictures, wether published from a news station, or a citizen journalist, are worth a thousand words; hence the great influence on the world in which they possess. For example, in 1996 Boris Yeltsin was running for re-election but many deemed him too old for the job. However, this notion was shot down when Alexander Zemlianichenko photographed Yeltsin dancing at a rock concert. In the video pertaining Yeltsin, the narrator talked on the image, stating “the President was healthy enough for another term and helped tip the election in his favor”. The image had a clear effect on the world.
The issue with war is that very limited information that comes from the source are published. This statement is further exemplified in the article on Aljazeera when the narrator explains about the ignorance of United States citizens with the statement- “they don’t know what is going on - and they don’t lift a finger to find out”. This notion can be nullified, however with excellent use of photojournalism, whether it is a citizen journalist or a news source. An example of a photo from war that changed the world was the image of the little Vietnamese girl who was shown burnt by napalm in the Vietnam War. This image sparked a revolution per say in the disapproval of the war by many U.S. citizens.
Photo by: Nick Ut
If there is any sort of image that has changed my life profoundly, I would have to say it was one from the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. I was a young child when the events on 9/11 occurred and they still resonate emotions in me to this day. Not only was my life greatly effected, but the lives of very United States citizen. The images from September 11th had the exact effect on individuals that Jonathan Klein touched on when he said, “images that provoke us to step up and do something; in other words: act”. After the attack, images surged over the internet creating great emotions from many, including myself and the nation.
Photo by: Seth McAllister
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