THE CAPTION PROBLEM IN NATIONAL PRESS NEWS PHOTOS AND SUGGESTIONS
ULUSAL BASIN HABER FOTOĞRAFLARINDA ALTYAZI SORUNU VE ÇÖZÜM ÖNERİLERİ

Author : Feyyaz BODUR
Number of pages : 1-18

Abstract

Besides being a communication tool itself, photos can be supported with explanatory elements to make encoded messages clearer. Such explanatory texts related to news photos used in the newspapers are called captions. Captions have the same importance for the photo news that photos have for news. However, news captions are usually full of question marks. This article looks for explaining and giving examples of how captions are supposed to be, exemplifying the problems with the captions used in the newspapers. The front-page news and the texts related to the news photos of the 5 most published newspapers of the national press were scanned as examples. At the end of the scanning, the photo news and the texts related to the photos are analyzed. The content of the captions (the texts related to the photos) are analysed in terms of their place on the photo, their relation to the photo and punctuation. Based on the negative and positive examples of captions detected as a result of the analyses, suggestions are made about how they ought to be. Today most of the national newspapers seem to abandon the method of using captions. It is especially true for the front page and the back pages. Using what the colored print method and photoshop technique has to offer, texts related to the news, instead of captions, are placed in a suitable space in the photo frame where objects are not seen. (Photo 10a, 10b, 10c). This sort of page design makes it difficult to understand the real value of photos. Furthermore, it leads to the fact that the photo loses it meaning and the photo and the text mutually make each other ineffective. In most cases the information in the photo is insufficient in terms of journalism. However, captions make the photo more valuable completing the information the photo tries to give. As can be seen in the analyzed examples, newspapers transformed the display of the photo and the caption taking away their original purpose in order to create a different page design or a different way of reporting. However, readers demand to read the photo as clearly as they read the news. The photo should reveal the information of who, where, when and what, and the caption should be explanatory. Besides, the name of the photojournalist who has taken the photo should be written under the photo. Today, the name of the journalist finds no place for itself not only under the photos but also most of the news reports. ? Captions should not contain comments. It should show what is seen as explaining what is not seen comes along with new question marks. ? Captions should explain what might need explanation in the photo. They should not be inconsistent with what is seen in the photo. ? Help should be asked from experts for the statements related to science and sports jargon that requires particular specialization. ? Captions should not spoil the display of the photo. Texts should not be placed on the photo in the spaces of the photo, which will make the photo difficult to understand. These kinds of technics make the photo lose its value, and it is not an ethical behavior towards the owner. At the final stage, talents of the page designer matter. Design is an important part of the journalism process. It is not a decoration but a communication means. A designer starts work with an empty newspaper page and a mosaic of ideas to communicate. His job is to present this mosaic in a clear and organized way. The suggestions made in the article are not a must, however, they are suggestions that will help the mass communication tool called newspaper have better quality both in content and format.

Keywords

Photo, Newspaper, News Photo, Caption

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