The Power of Protests

Max Wolter 

Max Wolter

MW050119@ohio.edu

On May 25th, George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minnesota. The death of George Floyd added to all the chaos that was apparent in 2020 and inspired millions around the world to march for black pride. Hundreds of protests erupted in America, and journalists scurried to capture their messages. Countless pictures of the protests were posted in newspapers, journals, and online articles. Photos from the rallies are powerful, moving, engaging, and inspiring; however, some of these pictures harm the people in the images. According to our class readings, business owners identified their workers in photos covering the protests and firing them. Some people recommend journalists blur the faces of people in rallies and marches. 

Photo courtesy of KUT

Yes, blurring the faces of protestors in photos will protect their identities; however, this would take away from the impact of rally photos, and protestors do not march in public to protect their identities. Protestors thrust themselves into the limelight when protesting. Protestors march together to march for their cause and get coverage as a group supporting one another. If journalists were to blur their faces and hide their identity, it would take away the protestors' pride of being seen standing up and marching for their cause. Blurring the faces of protestors marching also can take the value and impact away from the photo.

 

Pictures of protests can be very moving, sentimental, and powerful because our faces capture so much emotion. Sometimes those faces define the image and are crucial to the story. 

Everyone and anyone can be a protestor. Seeing people's faces while they protest can cause sympathy towards that group. Blurring the faces of marching protestors makes them look criminal and non-relatable. Journalists need to humanize The photo as much as possible when posting about controversial events.

We have to change the way journalists cover marches and protests. According to Kendra Pierre-Louis, media and broadcasts are covering these functions of democracy as nuisances. These parties are trying to make a statement and be heard by America and our government. Journalists have to focus on the message these groups are risking themselves and their jobs to convey. If journalists are constantly racing to report all of the problems marches are causing, no one will care about the meaning of the rally in the first place. It can be challenging to cover protests; however, journalists must take the extra steps necessary to be ethical in their reporting.