Too low is never low enough for the media!

USA Today gives Condi'demon eyes,' pulls photoPaper admits it gave secretary of state'unnatural appearance' in Web edition
October 26, 2005 © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Manipulated Associated Press photo of Condoleezza Rice published online by USA TodayUSA Today pulled a photograph of Condoleezza Rice from its website after a weblog revealed it was manipulated, giving the secretary of state a menacing, demon-eyesing stare.

The remarkable changes were first noted by a weblog called The Pen, which cited an original version of the Associated Press photograph. After a host of weblogs highlighted the photo, the nationwide newspaper removed it with this explanation:

"Editor's note: The photo of Condoleezza Rice that originally accompanied this story was altered in a manner that did not meet USA TODAY's editorial standards. The photo has been replaced by a properly adjusted copy. Photos published online are routinely cropped for size and adjusted for brightness and sharpness to optimize their appearance. In this case, after sharpening the photo for clarity, the editor brightened a portion of Rice's face, giving her eyes an unnatural appearance. This resulted in a distortion of the original not in keeping with our editorial standards."

But prior to the announcement, a number of experienced graphic artists wrote to weblogs, insisting the distortion was no mistake. "That photo of Condi was deliberately manipulated," said a reader of Michelle Malkin's site who has used Photoshop for 10 years. Another Photoshop user had suggested the photo might have been prepared for print publishing, which sometimes requires that images be sharpened to accommodate a fuzzy format.

The reader believed USA Today used a filter from the program Photoshop called Unsharp Mask, which brings out detail in soft photos. But the 10-year Photoshop user said he put the photo through the Unsharp Mask filter in Photoshop 5.5 and "could not duplicate what was done." The reader argued any filter in Photoshop would apply to the whole image, concluding "the image was deliberately manipulated around the eyes."

Also, he said, "Notice how the pupils have been narrowed, like a cat's eyes. Sharpening would not alter the roundness of her pupils, only accentuate them. Another paint or erase tool is required to achieve that effect." Two other experienced graphic artists concurred.