NO CLASS (Veterans Day). ASSIGNMENT DUE by 11:59 p.m. ET.
Words are important, but if a picture speaks a thousand of them, then editors, writers, and multimedia journalists need to pay closer attention to the images they use to illustrate their stories. For this assignment, you will find an example of an image used to illustrate an article having to do with race, sex or gender. Write a short (200-300 word) essay explaining why the image that was published was problematic, and offer suggestions for at least two alternative images that might have worked better. Email the essay and links to the article showing the problematic image to me by 11:59 p.m. ET on Nov. 11. This assignment is worth 10 points, and will lose 20% of its value for every day that it is late.
Here's an example:
Here's an example:
Image: https://www.linkedin.com/content-guest/article/very-dangerous-place-child-college-louis-m-profeta-md
Describe the problematic image: There are three images used to illustrate this article on the dangers young adults face in college. Two of them are of women, and one is of a child who looks to be about 5 years old.
Why is it problematic? The story leads with the author talking to a room full of men, and the story itself doesn't single out women, yet the illustrations leave the reader with the impression that their daughters are the ones who are too immature and most at risk -- and the ones they should be most afraid of sending off to college. Using an image of an actual child underscores the idea that women are less mature, more vulnerable, and less capable than men. Using these particular images also erases transgender people from the story, even though they face dangers in college as well.
What alternative images would have worked better, and why? It would have been better if the editor had selected images that showed a group of students of different genders, an image showing students of different genders and ethnicities at an off-campus party, an image of a student drinking alone, an image of a piled of used solo cups or drug paraphernalia or an image of many students in caps and gowns at a graduation ceremony. These alternative images would offer a more-inclusive and more-accurate illustration of the dangers described in the article.
Why is it problematic? The story leads with the author talking to a room full of men, and the story itself doesn't single out women, yet the illustrations leave the reader with the impression that their daughters are the ones who are too immature and most at risk -- and the ones they should be most afraid of sending off to college. Using an image of an actual child underscores the idea that women are less mature, more vulnerable, and less capable than men. Using these particular images also erases transgender people from the story, even though they face dangers in college as well.
What alternative images would have worked better, and why? It would have been better if the editor had selected images that showed a group of students of different genders, an image showing students of different genders and ethnicities at an off-campus party, an image of a student drinking alone, an image of a piled of used solo cups or drug paraphernalia or an image of many students in caps and gowns at a graduation ceremony. These alternative images would offer a more-inclusive and more-accurate illustration of the dangers described in the article.
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