A picture says a grousin’ word

You’ve gotta love the judgment of newspaper photo editors. This story about the murky rules surrounding filibusters in the Constitution features that Dick Cheney “Shut the f— up or I’ll cap your ass” photo. It makes him look ruthless, imposing and intolerant, but most likely he was calling on a reporter near the back of the room for a question. The choice gives evidence that, regardless of whether you think media bias exists, journalists have preconceptions like the rest of us that color their professional actions. They aren’t blank slates handing down absolute truth from on high and they’re under intense pressure to grab eyeballs any way they can. Of course, this is an “action” photo of Cheney, so it’s preferable to the dreaded grip ‘n’ grin. But how many other photos could have illustrated this story just as well, without the stereotypical reinforcement? It’s probably too much to expect photo editors to use photos less likely to hold eyeballs on a story. But let’s recognize their choices for what they’re not: impartial, neutral decisions.