ABCNews.com quotes Poynter’s Kenny Irby on Newsweek’s cover picture choice.
” ‘The main consideration for covers is, what will draw attention?’ said Kenny Irby of the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla. ‘There’s no question that people will pay a lot of attention to this cover.’
‘The issue, Irby said, is one of context. The photo is accompanied by the headline: ‘How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sarah? She’s Bad News for the GOP — And For Everybody Else, Too.’ And that leads to a whole different interpretation, Irby noted, than if you were looking at it in Runner’s World, where it originally ran in August.’
‘The image is not sexist,’ said Irby, who specializes in visual journalism. ‘The words are more damaging and questionable. The powerful pairing is the issue. Why did they use this photo — where half the frame is her legs — when they had thousands to choose from?’ In his own opinion, Irby said, ‘It’s a pretty underhanded shot at her credibility. “>
