I am a Clinical Psychologist; an analyst of visual journalism; an interpreter of political images; and publisher of the political blog BAGnewsNotes.  "The BAG" offers a daily semiotic analysis of news and political images from a political, cultural or psychological point of view, and is also a platform for original social photography and photojournalism.

My clinical training -- which is woven into my commentary -- involves the psychology of character and the presentation of everyday self.  My research has dealt primarily with symbolic expression, the process of visual narrative, and the psychological function of metaphor.

In addition to my private practice, I spent nine years as the consulting psychotherapist at The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), the highly-regarded architecture and design program and think-tank in Los Angeles. For five years before that, I served the same function at Otis College of Art and Design. Counting both experiences, I have spent thousands of hours collaborating with students and design professionals in their creative process, as well as participating in the formal and informal analysis and critique of visual images.

My experience with cyberspace began in the early eighties. Working for a publishing technology firm in New York, I was involved in developing some of the first on-line, interactive graphic content designed specifically for the public. It was from these early services (know at the time as "videotex") that the html standard emerged, and new communication companies, such as AOL and Yahoo, first took shape.

The BAGnewsNotes blog began in June 2003. Originally, it was the home for a civics tool/ visual experiment/political cartoon called BAGnews. Beginning in mid-2004, however, spurred by perceived peculiarities in the photo coverage of the Bush-Kerry presidential campaign, I turned my attention to this new "discipline" -- the visual analysis of political images.

I have been a regular contributor to the Huffington Post since September '05, writing a blog feature called "Reading The Pictures."  In September '07, I also became an on-line columnist for American Photo Magazine.

I'm alway interested in comments and feedback. To reach me, please write to: openbag AT bagnews (dot) com.

Blog Entries by Michael Shaw

Reading The Pictures: Volcker and the White House: Not Too Big To Flail

10 Comments | Posted October 21, 2009 | 03:45 AM (EST)


((Click for larger size)

Beyond the pure shame of it, the photo is almost too painful to look at.

It shows Team Obama with Paul Volcker and his White House...

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Reading The Pictures: Nobel Slam Not Enough, Newsweek Tries To Set White House on Fire

36 Comments | Posted October 12, 2009 | 03:58 AM (EST)


Come the first Monday after the Nobel announcement, here's Newsweek jumping on the "he didn't deserve it and who does he think he is, anyway?" bandwagon.

That's the least of it, though. Whereas similar toxicity abounds, Newsweek pivots off the bald and ugly "undeserving" slash in...

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Reading The Pictures: Artful New Attack Meme: Obama's "Indecision"

19 Comments | Posted October 8, 2009 | 04:53 AM (EST)


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(click for full size)

Are the Republicans and the media finally discovering a critique that hits Obama at the core of his personality?

If the subhead...

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Reading The Pictures: Glenn Beck's Organ. TIME's Dime.

46 Comments | Posted September 18, 2009 | 04:19 AM (EST)


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Sheesh, and I thought Newsweek was juicing the wackos this week.

TIME is not only in absolute collusion with the radical right in offering up this week-long, national FU to moderates,...

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Reading The Pictures: Teabaggers' Subliminal Death Message

159 Comments | Posted September 15, 2009 | 02:23 PM (EST)


Bury Obamacare.jpg

NineTwelvePhotos Flickr.jpg

Grim Reaper Zuma.jpg

The wingnuts don't consistently merge health care reform with Obama's name just because...

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Reading The Pictures: Townhall Redux

154 Comments | Posted September 10, 2009 | 03:36 AM (EST)


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As if August never ended.... While simultaneously reaching across the aisle and also challenged conservatives to act like grown-ups, Obama's health care speech before Congress brought still more troubling visuals.

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Reading The Pictures: The Barack "School Yard" Panic: How Much A Racist Thing?

184 Comments | Posted September 4, 2009 | 02:54 AM (EST)


Chris Stigall, a Kansas City talk show host, said, "I'm not letting my next-door neighbor talk to my kid alone; I'm sure as hell not letting Barack Obama talk to him alone.-- Some Parents Oppose Obama Speech to Students (NYT)

I'm not saying the latest right-wing...

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Reading The Pictures: Goodbye Hammer, Hello Twinkletoes

5 Comments | Posted September 1, 2009 | 05:33 AM (EST)



2009-09-01-DelayDancingwithStars.jpg

If the image seems superfluous, validating how Tom DeLay has found his level as a has-been anchoring a cheap reality show, ABC in fact has afforded him the perfect platform.

From the Note:

...

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Reading The Pictures: Rove's Fun and Games in the Name of Wounded Warriors

7 Comments | Posted August 27, 2009 | 04:55 AM (EST)


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Props to Media Matters for taking apart the distortions about the VA's "end-of-life" educational pamphlet propagated by Karl Rove, Sean Hannity and Fox News.

Most relevant, in light of Karl's playful prop on Hannity's Monday show,...

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Reading The Pictures: .38 More Ways to Counter the Teabaggers?

228 Comments | Posted August 25, 2009 | 04:27 AM (EST)


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I just saw this photo story at TPM. After several incidents last week in which right wing radicals showed up at health care meetings wearing guns, we now have this example of a pro-reform demonstrator, identified only...

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Reading The Pictures: Grandma Must Die!

65 Comments | Posted August 12, 2009 | 04:31 AM (EST)


click for full size

Yes, we already probed the Joker fairly thoroughly (but then, major points for the guy having that creepy eruption!).

But the...

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BAGnews Reads The Pictures: Obama as Joker? Dead Heath Ledger? Vampire? ...Or Just Wingnut's Enigma?

349 Comments | Posted August 5, 2009 | 01:38 PM (EST)


If Obama's election invited the dream of a new era of post-partisanship, that's a harsh light suddenly streaming through the window. The craziness might just be orchestrated by a narrow targeted effort and then...

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BAGnews Reads The Pictures: Michelle Malkin with the Sound Off

186 Comments | Posted August 4, 2009 | 04:01 AM (EST)


click for full size

Before taking aim at ABC for actually inviting the far right-wing provocateur Michelle Malkin onto their Sunday talk show with Stephanopoulos, I have...

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Reading the Pictures: As if This Puts Birthers to Bed

236 Comments | Posted July 24, 2009 | 01:19 AM (EST)


click for full size

  Seeing is believing?

via

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Reading the Pictures: F-22 Slapped Around A Little, But Oh Still So Hot

13 Comments | Posted July 22, 2009 | 01:00 PM (EST)


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There's whitewash and greenwash and there's also Raptorwash.

So the media is trumpeting a major victory for the White House because the Senate voted, under threat of a veto, to "only" build 187 more F-22 Raptors instead of 194. Then,...

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Reading the Pictures: Bagram: Nobody Here But Us Humanitarians

3 Comments | Posted July 21, 2009 | 03:57 AM (EST)


(one image slightly graphic)

One of the hallmarks of the...

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Reading the Pictures: Reaching the High Court on the Backs of White Heroes

20 Comments | Posted July 16, 2009 | 01:05 AM (EST)


2009-07-16-NewHavenfirefightersSotomayorhearing.jpg

Talk about wedge tactics.

Take a look at this line of New Haven firefighters filing into the Sotomayor confirmation hearings Wednesday morning. (If you don't know the backstory, the Supremes recently overturned Sotomayor's New Haven decision, the court asserting white...

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Reading the Pictures: Malia, Peace Signs and Bottom Feeders (Political as Well as Journalistic)

213 Comments | Posted July 12, 2009 | 09:10 PM (EST)


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I hope you'll permit me a little finger wagging in tracking how things like this get started.

First, shame on the Daily Mail for posting images of Malia Obama on Thursday claiming that her wearing this...

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Reading the Pictures: Reuters Obama Booty Call

107 Comments | Posted July 10, 2009 | 12:00 PM (EST)


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Call it further signs of the media swoon....

Reuters distributes this shot which, from the way everyone is caught in the moment, seems to capture Obama ogling, or at least gamely distracted by this junior G-8 delegate (set up by the

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Reading The Pictures: Obama-Putin Not in Love!

9 Comments | Posted July 8, 2009 | 05:46 AM (EST)



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Apparently prompted by the eager Condi Rice (see paragraph 22), Dubya convinced himself before they had even met that Putin would become a best friend for life.

Of course,...

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