Interesting articles about the 2013 World Press Photo Contest winners – very similar to questions I had upon seeing the winning image above.

Photojournalism And Post-Processing: Should Contest Images Be The Actual Published Picture? | NPPA.
DURHAM, NC February 20, 2013 – In the days following the announcement of the World Press Photo of the Year theres been quite a discussion going on in cyberspace about post-processing of news images, and how far is too far given the ethics of reportage and todays digital photography.

Another article on Peta Pixel:Why Do Photo Contest Winners Look Like Movie Posters?

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Side by side comparison of image as originally published and then what got submitted to World Press Photo.