Abstract: Influences upon the visual content of US front pages are assessed at two levels. At the routine-level, visual differences are compared based on whether photographs are taken by on-staff photojournalists or are wire-provided. At the individual-level, differences are assessed based on the photographer’s race and gender. This study uncovers visual implications of fewer staff photojournalists in present day newspapers, a news image environment increasingly dominated by a small number of central agencies, and the visual consequences brought about by more or less diverse photojournalists.
Topic: visual journalism
Journalism’s visual construction of place in environmental coverage
Abstract: This study builds on our understanding of how visual journalism is used with environmental reporting to create a sense of place and understanding. While most American photojournalism tends to favor close-up photos with people, environmental coverage leans opposite: sweeping landscape photos devoid of people. However, our content analysis of wire and non-wire environmental photos on US newspaper front pages show support that person-focused feature imagery is being used more, though mostly at an informational level.