About a month ago, two of our summer interns, writer Megan Boehnke and photographer Tricia Spaulding, conceived of a summertime series on county fairs. Megan and Tricia both have rural Kentucky roots, and they love fairs. They wanted to portray the interesting events that happen there. The Herald-Leader almost never covers county fairs, certainly not to the extent that Megan and Tricia were proposing, so we told them to go for it – starting with the Wayne County Fair beauty pageant. Their coverage appeared on the City | Region front page on July 1.
Putting the paper together the night before, I saw Megan’s story before I saw Tricia’s photos.
I’m an assistant metro editor, a word person. I usually have input but no final say in photo choice. When I saw black-and-white proofs (computer print-outs) of Tricia’s photos, I could tell she and Megan had worked closely together. The tone of the photos matched perfectly the tone of the story. The contestants carried giant umbrellas on the stage and had to keep their trains from dragging in the mud. Glue and tape kept costumes from malfunctioning. Girls paraded before the judges and a decidedly sparse audience. One girl registered five minutes before the event. Hairspray, tape and glue held everyone together between rounds. There was an element of the ridiculous: Chicken wings were had for dinner – can you picture beauty contestants wearing evening gowns and eating chicken wings?
Working with the night photo editor and the page designer, all of us women, I agreed that a photograph of one anonymous contestant, from behind, showing the drizzle and the stage and the onlookers, matched the tone of the story very well. The contestant was in a bathing suit and shown only from the waist down, which gave me some pause, but the bathing suit was firmly in place (glued?), so I did not think it offensive. We went with it.
Later in the evening, a man’s comment made me think twice. The copy editor, who writes headlines and edits for grammar, facts and taste, said he thought the girl’s behind was distracting and maybe not a good choice for the full-color lead photo. Could it be in poor taste?
I thought about the question and briefly discussed it with other editors again, but we decided the photograph was not in poor taste. It showed less skin than you might see at a public pool, the contestant was not named, and she was a willing participant in a pageant that focuses heavily on swimsuits. Also, the photo had other story-telling aspects – it showed the rain and the crowd in the background. We were up against our first edition deadline, so we went with the photo.
Then I saw our first edition paper, which is sent up from the press room to the newsroom before we start making changes for final edition. Interested parties – women and men including the night news editor, the copy desk chief, the night photo editor, the page designer, and several other newsroom staffers – gathered around to discuss again, since we were seeing it in print for the first time. We had a strong second choice for that lead photo spot: a picture of a contestant trotting along the stage carrying a large umbrella to stay dry. She was wearing a bathing suit, but you could see her face and her full body, from the side. The overall color, including a large green and white fair tent in the background, was also eye-popping.
There were opposing views shared that night. We all knew that some readers would have a problem with the strangeness of a woman’s butt on the front of the City | Region section. In fact, some people in the newsroom had a problem with it. We wanted the story and photos to correspond in tone and subject matter; we didn’t want one to detract from the other. We wanted a technically proficient photograph. We did not want to offend anyone, but we did want to grab attention and show readers there was something special and different to read here. We wanted a photo that was multi-layered, showing not only people, but also the place and the rain. We wanted to do justice to the beauty contestants; we weren’t deliberately aiming for an unflattering photo.
We went back and forth three or four times, building consensus for one photo, then for the other. We decided to stay with the original choice. It won out because it was surprising and multi-layered, and it came closer to matching the themes in the story – glued bathing suits and all. Our second choice, the photograph of the contestant with the umbrella appeared on Page B2 in final edition and in a slide show about the fair on Kentucky.com. It was our second choice because it was not as eye-catching and did not show as many aspects of the fair, such as the sense of place.
We have received a few complaints about the photograph since Sunday morning. Most of the complaints come from women, and most of them say the photograph portrays the beauty contestants as one-dimensional sex objects. That argument did not enter my mind on Saturday. The contestants were willingly, enthusiastically entering a contest judged solely on beauty in gown and bathing suit. The story and photos were done by two people who love the county fair and did not intend to offend but did intend to show a glimpse of reality – silly, sweet and strange all at once.
Dori Hjalmarson
Assistant Metro Editor
I am truly amazed that with all the apparent discussion that took place concering the use of the “butt photo” that you did not realize that this photo was simply in BAD TASTE. I find it simply to be an ugly photograph and it distracts and demeans an otherwise apparently well intended story.
Many men are fighting a constant barrage of tv and internet stories and ads aimed at weakening our defenses with sexy images. While some have simply given in to the barrage and are totally under the influence of the image makers, others of us consider pictures like the one you reference just another cheap form of pornography and I am one of many who object on that ground.
Give me a break! When I read this story on Monday morning, I didn’t even notice the woman’s butt in the picture. What I did notice, however, was the sparse crowd and I wondered how the contestants must feel parading on the stage for such a small group of on-lookers. I was shocked to read this morning that some people verbalized that the photo was in bad taste and offensive. How sheltered must one’s life be to be offended by a photo so deliberately captured when one can walk into any mall store, restaurant, or even CHURCH for that matter and see far worse? I say, “Get your head out of the sand!”
Give me a break! When I read this story on Monday morning, I didn’t even notice the woman’s butt in the picture. What I did notice, however, was the sparse crowd and I wondered how the contestants must feel parading on the stage for such a small group of on-lookers. I was shocked to read this morning that some people verbalized that the photo was in bad taste and offensive. How sheltered must one’s life be to be offended by a photo so deliberately captured when one can walk into any mall store, restaurant, or even CHURCH for that matter and see far worse? I say, “Get your head out of the sand!”
The photo was unattractive and the woman’s buttocks and thighs were too beefy. I bet she did not win.
I found the photograph distracting although not offensive. The lower half of a contestant’s backside in such prominent placement does add a very non-personal feel to the story. The picture, in conjunction with the text, supported the idea that titles at this level have nothing to do with anything other than physical beauty. The story added to this by emphasizing the number of contestants who have no connection to the county in which they are competing — they just want a title. I didn’t find it a flattering article to the contestants or to the Wayne Co. Fair because it was one-dimensional. If there are more stories to follow on other county fairs, it will be intersting to how they are covered.
Oh, for gosh sakes! What’s all the fuss about? This is an artsy photo of an obvious beauty pageant in the bathing suit phase. Anyone who sees anything else has a dirty mind. Beauty pageants are a part of Americana and this pleasant illustration of one at a rainy county fair is superb. I enjoy photo art and this is one of the best I’ve ever seen.
The picture didn’t bother me at first and, by the time I had read the article, I went back to it and thought it was perfect. I thought the entire article was unusually thought provoking. If anything is demeaning to women, it is the fairs themselves as they encourage a group of star struck wannabees to objectify themselves in a desperate effort to achieve success.
The photograph was bush league, clearly intended to show that these county fair folks were a bunch of rubes who live in trailers and eat possum. The writer is exhibiting that these folks are to be mocked. It was shoddy editing!
I think you do protest too much ! You and your reporters did a poor job and you should be ashamed and I hope that you have apologized to the contestant, thank goodness she was annonomous supposedly, but I doubt that all the girls wore yellow bathing suits ! Bone up on the rules for county fair pageants and the work and planning that the boards and the girls do to have a pageant. Sad when it rains and ruins expensive gowns and shoes. In fact, a beautiful mud covered show would have been an interesting photo.
Really–you wanted to do the “beauty contestants” justice? Are you kidding–that had to be the most unflattering picture possible, and certainly one of the most deliberate pictures possible. It’s not even a matter of taste, it’s that your article and photo did match perfectly.
It was a smear, written and photographed by people who failed to capture County Fair Americana, but rather jumped on board the bandwagon to criticize women who work very hard to achieve grace, poise, and courage.
When these girls compete–glued, taped, stapled, and sewn–they achieve more than most of us ever dare. They face the courage of their convictions and stand to be judged.
Could you? Would you? Would your reporter or photographer?