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NY Times Acknowledges Error In Hendricks Image
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 21, 2010
Modified Jan 21, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 21, 2010
Modified Jan 21, 2010
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Left: doctored image from the NYT; Right: orignal image.
It's been a couple of days since we pointed out that the Gray Lady ran an altered image of Christina Hendricks at the Golden Globes, in an article where writer Cathy Horyn used an anonymous quote to call the actress "big." Since then, the story has made the rounds, and the Paper of Record has printed an explanation, of sorts, saying: "The photo was slightly distorted inadvertently due to an error during routine processing. The photograph has been replaced."
Whether or not you believe that the image didn't catch anyone's eye at the New York Times before it ran, it was definitely a bit more than "slightly" distorted (which makes it harder to believe this was a "routine processing error"). In case the above side-by-side shots aren't convincing enough, one reader sent us an animated gif where he "superimposed one of the photos over the other" — you can see it after the jump.
So: did a Times intern simply make an "oops" or did Horyn specifically use that image to make some sort of point? We'll never know. However, we do know that the same paper ran an article on the same day cattily opining that Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox and Kate Hudson had all gained weight in their upper arms.
And not to put the Times's writers under too much of a microscope (but they're just so tiny!), we also know that someone at the NY Times Twittered, upon seeing Michael C. Hall in a hat at the same awards show: "Is Michael C. Hall playing Bob Marley in an upcoming movie? Don't get the hat or what he is hiding under it." Hall, in fact, is in remission after battling Hodgkin's lymphoma. Unsurprisingly, this is the same Times writer who Twittered asking if Morrissey was dead. And this is the kind of top notch journalism you'll soon be asked to pay more for!
Courtesy of RadiantPics
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cathy horyn
christina hendricks
golden globes
michael c. hall
ny times
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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