This article, which I also linked to on Diigo, discusses CNN's decision to edit a photo that other news organizations released unaltered. CNN blurred the faces of a group of men behind a news correspondent that was assaulted soon after the photo was taken. Many people criticized CNN for altering the photo, saying that they had "unethically tampered with a historic photographic record." CNN defended its decision, explaining that they blurred the crowd's faces because they had no way of knowing whether the people in the photograph were the same people who assaulted the correspondent.
The situation described is only one of the many ways in which changing reality can be subjective; some decisions are viewed positively (astrophotography; smaller edits like editing the hair out of someone's face) and some are seen negatively (making models extremely thin; altering a politically important photo).
Photo editors allow us to create our own reality, for better or worse.
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