What happened: Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci won a prestigious journalism award this week for his iconic shot of President Donald Trump moments after he was nearly assassinated during a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pa. The unforgettable image, featuring Trump surrounded by Secret Service agents, his fist raised in defiance under a crane-mounted American flag as blood trickles down his cheek, was named Photo of the Year on Monday by the White House News Photographers Association.
Crucial context: This is the same photo journalists denounced as "dangerous" propaganda, or "photoganda," in the days following the failed assassination attempt. Axios spoke with "multiple" media photographers in July 2024 about Vucci's photo and other enduring images from the Butler rally, many of whom "worried privately in conversations" that the photos might help Trump win the election, but wouldn't deepen the public's appreciation for heroic journalism. One photographer from a major news outlet warned that it was "dangerous for media organizations to keep sharing [Vucci's] photo despite how good it is." Another complained that the award-winning photo would be used by Trump's "propaganda machine" to portray him as "a martyr."
Analysis: Journalists would never say these things about a (purely hypothetical) photo of a Democratic politician looking awesome and courageous after surviving an assassination attempt.
Bottom line: Professional journalists want Democrats to win.
Flashback: Iconic Trump Photos Are 'Dangerous' Propaganda, Journalists Say