People Magazine Alters Cover Photo

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: October 27, 2003

NEW YORK (AP) -- People magazine acknowledged Monday it altered an image of Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette on its cover, moving them closer together in order to make room for headlines.

The photo was also changed to extend the shrubs behind the pair in order to ``improve readability of the text,'' the magazine said in a statement. ``In retrospect, we would probably reconsider these changes.''

The magazine said in the statement it would ``would never use images to create a situation that did not exist.'' A spokeswoman for the magazine declined to comment further.

The changes were first reported in Photo District News, a magazine for professional photographers.

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On the Net:

Photo District News:

http://www.pdnonline.com
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© People

By Jay DeFoore

The Oct. 27 issue of People features a fairly innocuous picture of Courteney Cox and David Arquette on the cover. At first glance you probably don't notice anything but their ear-to-ear smiles. But upon closer inspection, and a little research, it soon becomes clear that the blue sky was digitally created, people have been removed from the background and the two actors' heads have been moved closer together.

Digital alteration in a celeb magazine is no big deal, right? But in an August 8 article in USA Today titled "Celebrity Mags Duke it Out," People editor Martha Nelson insisted that her magazine would never combine separate photos on a cover to make it appear as if two people are together. Nelson claimed that People has higher standards than its competition.

"For us it's really about journalism," she's quoted as saying. "That's at the core of what we do."

© Us Weekly. Magazine cover with original image (detail)

While it's true they didn't combine two photos, the Cox/Arquette cover isn't exactly the best example of holding high journalistic standards. People's little retouching slip is apparent after examining the original file, a red carpet photo shot by FilmMagic's Craig T. Mathew.

When asked about the cover, People spokesperson Dianne Jones released the following statement:

"People magazine would never use images to create a situation that did not exist. While Courtney Cox and David Arquette did appear together in the photo featured on our 10/27/03 cover, they were moved closer to make room for the headlines and the shrubs behind them were extended to improve readability of the text. In retrospect, we would probably reconsider these changes."

Even though theirs is the hottest category in the industry, celebrity magazines rarely spend the money on custom cover shoots, relying instead on red carpet photos meant for mass consumption. The problem, as seen with Mathew's photo, is you rarely get a clean shot. B-list celebrities milling about don't make for a good background to lay text over.

Links: Photo Manipulation Highlights Internal Feud At 'SI'
FilmMagic -- www.filmmagic.com
People.com -- www.people.com