SmashMouth

It was a news photo that, as Gawker quipped, was "ripe for captioning."
A pic of Mitt Romney bending over, while a seemingly astonished schoolgirl stands behind him, mouth agape.
The photograph, posted Monday by The Associated Press for all to see, has since surged across the Internet. The candidate riding a wave of confidence from last week's debate performance was suddenly made, pardon, the butt of jokes.



So was it a cheap shot?
Tim Graham, media analysis director at the Media Research Center, said absolutely.
"It's unbelievable," he wrote. "It honestly looks like a little girl is gaping at Romney from behind."
A closer look appears to show the girl looking at something else to the right of Romney. The caption, though, did not initially make clear what it is she's staring at. The caption said: "Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney poses for photographs with students of Fairfield Elementary School, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, in Fairfield, Va."
The AP has since tried to clarify. After FoxNews.com published an earlier version of this story questioning the use of the photo, the AP posted an updated caption to "better explain what was happening" -- in that the girl was reacting because Romney was posing for a photo directly in front of her.
The updated caption read: "Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney poses for photographs with students of Fairfield Elementary School, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, in Fairfield, Va. A student, right, reacts as she realizes Romney will crouch down directly in front of her and her classmates for the group photo."
Steve Manuel, senior lecturer at Penn State's College of Communications and an award-winning photojournalist, said the AP must have known how the image would be perceived when they published it.
"In this photo, while it may appear funny, AP knows exactly what viewers are thinking," he wrote in an email. "It's not legitimate news. AP knows that viewers are going to chuckle and imagine what the little girl is seeing, and it makes Gov. Romney appear a bit foolish. That isn't the purpose or mission of photojournalism. ... Candidate or not, it is not the mission of a news organization to place anyone in a position to be ridiculed or made fun of. Reporting the news is, and this is not newsworthy."
Stephen Ward, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the photo by itself was not too offensive but noted it could be exploited.
"Looking at the photo, it just strikes me as not particularly offensive. It's more funny," he said. "But in a highly charged political environment like this, you have to be very careful. I don't particularly have a problem with the shot. As long as the caption is fine. My problem is in how people might use it."
The AP may have entered a bit of a gray area with this one. The photo was not altered or manipulated in any apparent way. But the National Press Photographers Association code of ethics offers some guidance.
"Treat all subjects with respect and dignity," it says. The code also says: "Be complete and provide context when photographing or recording subjects."
Graham noted that the image coincided with a story with a decidedly anti-Romney tone.
The AP piece that ran around the same time was about how Romney had decided to skip a Nickelodeon-sponsored "Kids Pick the President" special that President Obama had agreed to.
The story was in large part a venue for show producer Linda Ellerbee to sound off on the Republican nominee.
"That's several million kids who actually want to get involved in the democratic process," Ellerbee told the AP. "They don't deserve to be dissed. But former Gov. Romney also blew off Letterman and Big Bird, so I guess we're in good company."
Romney's campaign claimed it didn't have time. Also, kids don't actually vote.


Read more: AP publishes unflattering pic of Romney bending over | Fox News

Danno

Its simply another tactic the mainstream media use. Take 100 photos, pick the most unflattering one to use against Republicans, and pick the most flattering one to use for Democrats.

SloMotion

, that's actually a pretty funny pic, we should do a 'caption this' contest on that one ... include this one with Hillary as well, ... and I don't blame her one bit for checking out Aguilera's rack, .

saintfan

Yeah. Bill would put his Cigar riiiiiight there...

Danno

Now thats where I should have hidden those Rose Law Firm records.

SmashMouth

The Associated Press issued a mea culpa Wednesday over a photo that showed Mitt Romney bending over while a seemingly astonished schoolgirl gawked at him from behind.
The image, which was initially published Monday with a caption that simply said Romney was posing for photos with elementary school students, became instant Internet fodder.
As Gawker quipped, it was "ripe for captioning." But some complained that it was blatantly unfair to Romney.
AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll said Wednesday the company "fell short" of its own standards in this case.
Carroll said in a statement that the original caption was "too generic and missed the boat by not explaining exactly what was happening."
The AP published an updated caption on Tuesday which said: "Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, poses for photographs with students of Fairfield Elementary School, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, in Fairfield, Va. A student, right, reacts as she realizes Romney will crouch down directly in front of her and her classmates for the group photo."
But Carroll suggested it was too late.


Read more: AP exec: We 'fell short' with photo of Romney bending over | Fox News

Danno

My guess is they think they might be sued bythe girls parents, as they should be.

Crusader

Sued? For what? publishing a bad picture? I mean its petty clear that she is looking at something else and the picture itself is pretty bad in its composition, Romneys pose, expression etc. Clearly not newsworthy but what could you possibly sue for?

SloMotion

If I remember correctly, when my kid's were in school you could sign a waiver asking your child's photo not be used in any public news reports or stories concerning the school ... maybe that's what they're getting at.

Danno

For misrepresenting what the girl is actually looking at. People have been sued for much much less. All you need is a jury that agrees with you.