Fred Ritchin

The White House has announced that it will not release photos of Osama bin Laden’s death. Quoting the transcript of President Obama’s upcoming interview with 60 Minutes, set to air this Sunday, White House Spokesperson Jay Carney told reporters that, “It is important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to further violence or as a propaganda tool.” Some very graphic photos from the raid have already been published by The Guardian. Is the release of graphic photos a good idea? 

Images from Haiti helped define the story of the earthquakes devastation, but what did they say about the state of photojournalism? Fred Ritchin, formerNew York Times Magazine photo editor; photography and imaging professor at NYU; director of PixelPress.org; and author of After Photography, discusses how affordable technology ...