Photographer Uses Photos From Shoot for Own Political Commentary
Photographer Jill Greenberg took the cover photo of John McCain for October’s Atlantic Monthly and retouched the photo in a way that left him looking respectful, but rather bad. She then doctored additional photos from the shoot to reflect her anti-republican views, added commentary and posted them on her website, manipulator.com.
It appears the McCain link under “names” has recently been deactivated. So, I’ve attached a few of them here for your viewing pleasure.
Atlantic Monthly says they “were not aware of the manipulated and dishonest images Jill Greenberg had taken until this past Friday.” They also stated that Greenberg will not be paid for the session, and that they are considering a lawsuit against her.
Greenberg said, "I am a pretty hardcore Democrat. Some of my artwork has been pretty anti-Bush. So maybe it was somewhat irresponsible for them to hire me." For example, in 2004, she held an art exhibit in L.A. that garnered a lot of press displaying pictures of toddlers crying with the caption "Four More Years" as a visual slam against President Bush. (Images are under "End Times" in her online portfolio.)
Fox News also reported on this story and stated that the editor of The Atlantic Monthly is sending a letter of apology to John McCain.
What are the possible lawsuits here? For McCain, although a public figure, it could be a libel suit given some of Greenberg’s statements and the content in question. I believe that actual malice could be proven. At a minimum it is a case of false light considering McCain posed for the photos to accompany an article in Atlantic about him, not for them to be posted online and brutally manipulated in a defamatory manner. On a smaller scale, depending on the contract Greenberg had with Atlantic, there is likely a breach of contract. And, if the magazine owns the images in question, it could be unlawfully gained imagery potentially used for profit.
1 comment:
Assume that she does own the copyright to the photos, so I guess the question is how much can she doctor them? McCain gave her permission for the photos, but not for this use. Could it just be considered free speech?
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