The simultaneous proliferation of digital image manipulation and reality TV seems somewhat paradoxical. The death of photography is proclaimed at a time when the use of cameras to produce visible evidence is approaching an all-time high. This coexistence, it is argued, testifies to a transmutation within our visual culture. The credibility of photographical discourses has become less dependent upon common technological features and more based upon institutional warrant related to specific photographical practices. Thus, the recent efforts to negotiate and communicate standards for such practices within newsrooms and other institutions. It is further suggested that the proliferation of reality TV might be read partly as a symptom of unsettled issues in this transmutation. More precisely, it might express a longing for a lost touch with reality, prompted by the undermining of indexicality.
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