A Los Angeles Times staff photographer covering the war in southern Iraq has been fired from his staff position after the newspaper learned he had "used his computer to combine elements of two photographs, taken moments apart, in order to improve the composition." An Editor's Note on the LA Times web site shows the altered photo, as well as the two photos that were reportedly blended together by photographer Brian Walski.

Update: The Poynter Institute's Kenny Irby has published a deeper look at Walski's transgression and the reaction to it within the journalism community.