Manipulating photos is a huge no-no in the news business. Even the digital manipulation you suggest can get you in trouble (a PJ was fired recently for making a color correction on a file just to match the actual color of the subject), but deliberately falsifying an image is the worst sin a PJ can commit. That guy's career is over--he'd be lucky to get a job working for the National Enquirer now.
(Photojournalism isn't really my area of photography, but I learned the rules "just in case.")
(Photojournalism isn't really my area of photography, but I learned the rules "just in case.")