Fred Ritchin

We've been tipped onto the work of Fred Ritchin by Les, Ritchin is a former picture editor for the NY times (1978–82) and is now a professor of imaging at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. 

We've been looking at this book 'Bending the Frame', a book written by Ritchin based around photojournalism and documentary photography. He looks at many aspects but some parts in particular are of interest to this current project. 

He talks about how photojournalism will change with the world and how once upon a time the job of a photojournalist was to simply record an event 'with the hope—and frequently the expectation—that people and their governments would be moved to respond to the injustices pictured'. (http://www.aperture.org/shop/books/bending-the-frame-fred-ritchin-books#sthash.taFMYxwO.dpuf)

There used to be a time when one could show people a photograph and the image would have the weight of evidence—the “camera never lies.” Certainly photography always lied, but as a quotation from appearances it was something viewers counted on to reveal certain truths. The photographer’s role was pivotal, but constricted: for decades the mechanics of the photographic process were generally considered a guarantee of credibility more reliable than the photographer’s own authorship."
(http://lightbox.time.com/2013/05/29/what-a-photograph-can-accomplish-bending-the-frame-by-fred-ritchin/#ixzz2pe8xjGaa)

I found the above very interesting as it's true in many aspects of photography. The whole basis of photojournalism has always been to report, photographers were considered visual reporters sharing the issues with the wider world that would otherwise go un noticed in a hope that change happens or a resolution is reached. In modern day media some photojournalism can be looked upon as strategic, photographers are paid by the likes of the Guardian to go and photograph a war. They return with photographs of how terrible the war is but that it is necessary, they show pictures of the enemy maybe using child soldiers so that the general public think it's just cause for the barbaric war. A photograph in a newspaper is now just as crafted as the article is accompanies. Photographs are taken in a way to reflect an idea or enforce a belief. 'We should be fighting this was because look how terrible things are here, look at what they are doing to children of that country' How much of what we are seeing is the true story?

Ritchin talks about reporting by the general public, the 'smartphone reporter' make photojournalism like every other form of social media, very easily accessible. It's so easy to share a photo of breaking news these days that several people are doing it, mostly for free. Does this water down true photojournalism? Are paid photojournalists going to take a hit because of these modern developments? No one can really say but it is now harder than ever to get 'real news' through the 'media haze'. How can a photojournalist create an engaging and informed piece of the conflict in Syria, which will influence the public, when there are so many stories cropping up and being covered by 'smartphone reporters'.

In the below interview he talks about his reasons for creating the book and in particular his interest in 'projects that attempt to be useful in society, rather than simply to make a news splash' - After all isn't this what photojournalism should really be about? We have all this technology to share things globally in seconds so surely we can get together and say 'These reports on poverty, aids, war are shocking, lets do something about it'?

"Who is Bending the Frame intended for and why?I wrote this book for a wide audience to discuss visual literacy and the politics surrounding the making of imagery. The use and misuse of photos is a societal problem affecting all of us. And if people are trying to use imagery to change society, it is necessary to understand that what worked with images in the past (the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement) may not work today.

In your book, you provide examples of projects that work to advance the field of photojournalism. For you, which stand out best?I am most interested in documentary projects that attempt to be useful in society, rather than simply to make a news splash. These projects often work proactively, trying to ward off the horror rather than waiting to get spectacular images of tragic events.South Africa–born Gideon Mendel’s long-term work photographing the HIV epidemic in his native country is one such proactive project. This extensive body of work convinced organizations of the tremendous usefulness that anti-retrovirals can have on HIV-positive people over an extended period of time. Rather than solely making gut-wrenching images of emaciated, very ill people, Mendel continued to photograph in hopes of capturing people’s return to health. Annemarie Hou, the director of communications at UNAIDS, said, “While devastation ‘sells’ it can become a spiral to continue to only show despair. Gideon has been able get people to respond to what is actually happening good and bad. His stories then are shared over and over to help show what is possible.” Hou credits his work with helping UNAIDS reach eight million people who, because of it, are on treatment today.
Magnum Photos continued in this spirit with a group project called Access to Life, which focused on HIV-positive people in countries around the world receiving anti-retroviral treatment. They collaborated with the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Access to Life (book, traveling exhibition, and website) directly led to raising one billion dollars for the Global Fund’s work. This project—specifically aimed at donor governments—potentially helped enormous numbers of people. Both projects did more than just document the devastation of AIDS. They genuinely helped to do something about it.

Why is visual literacy more important now than ever before?Considering the impact of imagery on the world (every two minutes the same number of photographs are said to be made as in the entire 19th century) everyone needs to be media literate—otherwise one is overwhelmed. As the common “front page” reporting on global events disappears that used to filter a hierarchy of issues and stories, we need help to weed through and understand what we are seeing. Bending the Frame poses what I think are quite important questions in order to foster a dialogue about visual literacy such as: Why are there no iconic images from Afghanistan, America’s longest war? What does that say about the change in image culture? What images would be helpful in addressing climate change? Or gun control? Only when we begin to address these questions will the fields of photojournalism and documentary photography move forward."