Newspaper apologises for doctored photo
Malaysiakini TeamPublished: Mar 6, 2001 3:41 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
At last, an apology from Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh . Editor-in-chief Liew Chen Chuan issued a [#1] statement[/#] late yesterday apologising for altering the image of a photo that appeared in its Nov 14 edition. The newspaper ran a photo in which the image of sacked Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was replaced with that of current Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
At last, an apology from Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh. Editor-in-chief Liew Chen Chuan issued a [#1]statement[/#] late yesterday apologising for altering the image of a photo that appeared in its Nov 14 edition. The newspaper ran a photo in which the image of sacked Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was replaced with that of current Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The original photo, taken at the launch of the BN election manifesto in 1995, shows Anwar standing beside caretaker Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad along with key leaders of the BN coalition. However, Sin Chew Jit Poh had crudely swapped the image of Anwar with that of Abdullah in the photo which appeared on the front page of its "Sin Chew Forum" section.
Liew explained that the mistake was committed by a junior sub-editor who "felt that as Anwar Ibrahim was no longer in the BN, his presence in that photograph was inappropriate."
"Hence, modern technology was employed to render the picture more reflective of the situation today," he said.
The act of "updating" the photo, he stressed, is "a violation of a cardinal principle of journalism." Liew assured Sin Chew Jit Poh readers that the mistake would not happen again.
A number of irate readers took to the Internet in complaint after the controversial photo appeared in the newspaper, especially through the Chinese discussion group, Kopitiam.
In reaction to the Internet discussion, Ooi Chun Lin, the editor of the "Sin Chew Forum" section who was responsible for the journalistic faux pas, posted a message in defence of himself. He explained that the image was altered to portray the unity of Barisan Nasional.
The photo was used to illustrate a series of articles discussing the coming elections and not meant to reflect the reality of that event, he added.
On Nov 21, malaysiakini was able to obtain a photo published in another Chinese newspaper, Nanyang Siang Pau, which was also taken at the 1995 BN manifesto launch, to prove conclusively that the Sin Chew Jit Poh photo had been doctored. Both photos were posted on the malaysiakini website.
When contacted by malaysiakini yesterday, Sin Chew Jit Poh deputy chief editor Siew Nyoke Chew explained that the mistake in altering the photo was not intentional.
"Ooi did not know that images in such photos cannot be altered to suit the political circumstances," she said.
The newspaper's stance began to soften late yesterday afternoon when key editors realised that the issue of the controversial photo was gaining momentum. The statement of apology from Liew was issued at 7 pm yesterday.
The original photo, taken at the launch of the BN election manifesto in 1995, shows Anwar standing beside caretaker Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad along with key leaders of the BN coalition. However, Sin Chew Jit Poh had crudely swapped the image of Anwar with that of Abdullah in the photo which appeared on the front page of its "Sin Chew Forum" section.
Liew explained that the mistake was committed by a junior sub-editor who "felt that as Anwar Ibrahim was no longer in the BN, his presence in that photograph was inappropriate."
"Hence, modern technology was employed to render the picture more reflective of the situation today," he said.
The act of "updating" the photo, he stressed, is "a violation of a cardinal principle of journalism." Liew assured Sin Chew Jit Poh readers that the mistake would not happen again.
A number of irate readers took to the Internet in complaint after the controversial photo appeared in the newspaper, especially through the Chinese discussion group, Kopitiam.
In reaction to the Internet discussion, Ooi Chun Lin, the editor of the "Sin Chew Forum" section who was responsible for the journalistic faux pas, posted a message in defence of himself. He explained that the image was altered to portray the unity of Barisan Nasional.
The photo was used to illustrate a series of articles discussing the coming elections and not meant to reflect the reality of that event, he added.
On Nov 21, malaysiakini was able to obtain a photo published in another Chinese newspaper, Nanyang Siang Pau, which was also taken at the 1995 BN manifesto launch, to prove conclusively that the Sin Chew Jit Poh photo had been doctored. Both photos were posted on the malaysiakini website.
When contacted by malaysiakini yesterday, Sin Chew Jit Poh deputy chief editor Siew Nyoke Chew explained that the mistake in altering the photo was not intentional.
"Ooi did not know that images in such photos cannot be altered to suit the political circumstances," she said.
The newspaper's stance began to soften late yesterday afternoon when key editors realised that the issue of the controversial photo was gaining momentum. The statement of apology from Liew was issued at 7 pm yesterday.
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