The writing of the Inquirer article about last night’s flash mobs doesn’t indicate the ethnicity or race of the participants, but one quick look at the accompanying photographs is a reader needs to fully comprehend everything. This is why photographs matter, people. No matter how much a journalist strives to remain as neutral as possible with their writing, a photograph can conjure a detailed but inaccurate representation of a situation. And that disconnect between the image and text can be unsettling.
I can’t claim to know the inner workings of the paper and their decision-making process with regards to visual/text choices, but I’m pretty unhappy about it. Because all this serves to reinforce some pretty nasty and misguided fears about technology, the digital divide, and race — especially when you put it in the context of the current FCC plans to expand broadband to disadvantaged populations.
