Media Criticism #4

The following is a copy of an email to Susanne Althoff, Editor of the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine

Susanne,

Just a quick comment on the photo that accompanied Tom Keane's piece in the Magazine last Sunday (5-23-10).

The photo caption says it is a view of Nantucket Sound "from Hyannis Port." I have spent a lot of time looking at Nantucket Sound; from West Yarmouth, Chatham, and Nantucket Harbor. The use of what is clearly an aerial shot markedly distorts the effect of any sea-level viewing.

The context (the jetty and the spit of land at the left for instance), and the distance to the apparent horizon available in an aerial shot are orders of magnitude greater than those available to any boater, a viewer standing on shore, or someone looking out an upstairs window.

The result is that the photo is at odds with the argument Keane is trying to make. From the vantage point of that photographer, wind turbines might mar the view. It is simply less possible for anything to similarly affect the view from on shore at sea level.