Visual Editors

THURSDAY P.M. UPDATE: el Nuevo Herald admits today it made two errors in news judgement in running what they, ex post facto, are labeling a ‘photo montage.’
The paper’s explanation.

And here is that page parsed by a bot into a semi-semblence of English . . .

The clarification comes one month after the original image was published as a straight news photo and rather swiftly after the fabrication was questioned by the Miami New Times paper.

—Original post and first update are listed below —-
Alt-weekly Miami New Times claims photo fraud in a 27 July article linked online this week by D.I.G., Romenesko and now, well, us. UPDATE: Newsdesigner has now filed as well. Sigh.

Maybe we are all just just FARK-bait for the Cafe Cubano Sippin’ Yucca scene but let’s risk it, shall we?
Here’s the picture New Times has up with their story of photo fakery at el Nuevo Herald.

The paper claims that the page 27 photo that ran in the A section of Sunday’s 25 June edition of el Nuevo Herald is a combination of two photos. Combined, again New Times claims, to make a political statement.

This is how the New Times sleuths see things after studying the nitty-gritty details of the working girls image.

1) The doorway, ‘there is a sharp variation in light between the right and left sides.’
2) The shadows, Cops are casting shadows and the streetwalkers are not.

Hmm. Those shadows probably do have some explaining to do . . .

Here’s their lead:

A striking, five-column color photo was splashed across the Sunday, June 25 edition of el Nuevo Herald. It showed four spandex-clad prostitutes in Cuba hailing a foreign tourist. Just a few feet away, two policemen conversed with a little girl and a woman. The headline: “Hookers: The Sad Meat of the American Dollar.”

The cops obviously didn’t care about the working girls — a clear sign of the hypocritically wanton ways of Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

Problem is, the picture was a fake. - Miami New Times

The photo ran five columns wide in color and New Times runs a 300 pixel-wide BLACK AND WHITE image on their Web site.

NOTE: If we had a larger scan of the published photo we could ‘Zoomify’ it right here in this blog let everyone have a look at 100 percent. Send us a note if you have a copy of the el Nuevo Herald page, a scanner and an e-mail address. Better yet - e-mail us a PDF of the page in query.

HOW COULD THEY? IS THE MCCLATCHY PAPER DENYING IT?

Well not ‘zactly. You see the alt-paper ran with the story without a quote from the El Nuevo brass - the decision-makers are not returning calls to New Times. To be certain, this saga is not over. Stay tuned for ‘Fake Cuban Hooker Photos: Part Deuce ‘- which we predict will entertain a denial, an apology, a rebuke, a head rolling, a lawsuit or if we are truly blessed - all five.

Sigh.

P.S. As you follow this item it may be helpful to keep in mind that New Times is the same paper that satisfied all curiosity about the invention of the female jock strap with this memorable Page One.