Stay sceptical

I wrote of the need for a healthy dollop of scepticism when it comes to photojournalism here.

Now Reuters has announced all sorts of new rules as to which Photoshop tools can and cannot be used by photojournalists in manipulating their images.

This quixotic effort is doomed to failure as detection of tool use is simply too long and convoluted a process in the face of publishing deadlines. Further, the mere presence of rules has nothing to do with ensuring compliance. Wouldn’t it be better if Reuters simply insisted that their photographers submit RAW files only, with all image manipulation being done by back office workers at headquarters?