‘Photos are equally important as the words we publish’ — Jes Aznar

Despite advances in digital technology, photojournalism thrives – and will disappear only when journalism disappears, visual journalist Jes Aznar said. 

At the opening of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism’s third national conference on investigative journalism last April 30, Aznar said photojournalism has been an “integral part’’ of journalism since it began in the 19th century.  

“It is equally important as the words we publish in our publications,’’ the photojournalist for The New York Times said at the PCIJ’s Investigative Journalism Conference (IJCon). He presented slides of The New York Times’ front-pages since 1852 depicting its increasing use of photographs over the years.

When digital came, almost everybody was saying ‘Okay,  photojournalism is gonna die because of digital [technology].’ It’s not going to die. The only day that photojournalism is going to die is the day when journalism is dead. Because it’s integral.

Jes Aznar, New York Times photojournalist

“When digital came, almost everybody was saying ‘Okay,  photojournalism is gonna die because of digital [technology].’ It’s not going to die. The only day that photojournalism is going to die is the day when journalism is dead. Because it’s integral,’’ he told journalists and students at the Novotel Hotel in Quezon City.  

Aznar said the past decades saw a surge of claims suggesting that photojournalism had been diminished by the proliferation of manipulated and fake images and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). 

But he said that image manipulation had been circulating since the 1800s ahead of the advent of Photoshop and AI.

Aznar referenced images such as the published pictures of Vladimir Lenin addressing troops in Moscow in 1920, in which his best friend Leon Trotsky and revolutionary Lev Borisovich Kamenev were airbrushed out. He also showed the famous cover album of The Beatles crossing the Abbey Road in London, minus Paul McCartney’s cigarette in the original photo. 

The problem of fake images and fake videos had been there before AI was invented, he said. 

Cameras are a powerful tool, but the real power lies with the photojournalist or editor, according to Aznar, who’s been covering the Asia Pacific region for The New York Times for 10 years now. 

“[A] photograph is [a] very political medium, so whoever wields the power to publish a picture, create or capture is in a very powerful position,” he said.

Storytellers

For Aznar, there’s practically no difference between visual journalism and text journalism because both require rigorous training and seek to tell a story.  

“We are storytellers. There’s no difference. The only difference is the medium. The writer uses text, the photojournalist uses photos to tell a story,’’ he said.  

“Most importantly, you must have integrity and objectivity,’’ he added. 

The past decades saw the increasing use of photos in print media. The New York Times, for instance, incorporated more visual elements into its pages to attract more readers. After all, people are “naturally visual,” Aznar said. 

There were 1.6 trillion photos and billions of pictures being exchanged each day, he said, citing a 2023 study.   

Aznar attributed this to evolving visual journalism – from the cuneiform writing system to the printing press to the digital revolution – which allowed people to conform to the ever-changing landscape of communication. 

We can say photography or photographs help society to further evolve into a higher level. While photography is evolving, we are also evolving. We help each other move forward into a better society, the way we see actually evolve.

Jes Aznar

“We used to believe hearsays right away. Now we don’t; we look for visual proof. Once we find visual proof, our level of critical thinking increases, too,’’ he added. 

Photography vs photojournalism

Aznar also drew a distinction between photography and photojournalism, explaining that the latter requires high ethical standards and entails the pursuit of objective truth. 

The main purpose of photojournalism is “to communicate the story and educate the audience,” while “photography is a different form, maybe a means of self-expression or actually [a way to] showcase truths about human conditions,” he pointed out.

The goal of photojournalism is reporting, he said. 

Aznar also addressed the practice of some media entities to request pictures from photojournalists and run them with proper credit but without paying for them.  

He attributed this to some newsrooms’ lack of appreciation for visual journalism due to lack of visual training. He said there’s a need to educate newsrooms about the challenges facing visual journalists.   

He also pointed to a gap in the fact-checking of visual content, noting that fact-checkers are often too focused on text journalism.  

What’s his advice to aspiring photojournalists?

Aznar said students of photojournalism should veer away from the so-called technique of sharpness, and instead focus on drama, which is exemplified by the works of Paolo Pellegrin, one of the world’s leading photojournalists. 

“It’s not just excellent color, excellent texture and excellent lines. Of course, these are important. But it has to be relevant, it has to be timely, it has to be objective, it has to be narrative. And like good prose that we look for in a written article, we also look for high aesthetic value in pictures,’’ he said.  

To preserve their integrity in the era of AI, photojournalists should put a premium on quality and accuracy, Aznar said.  

“If the public doesn’t trust us, what’s the point of our work?’’ he said. “If we churn out trash, we’ll get trash in return.’’ — Jhon Oliver Nery