Andrew L. Mendelson

Effects of Novelty in News Photographs on Attention and Memory

Critics of news photography have argued that most news photographs are highly conventional. Two experiments were conducted to examine how people respond to photographs that break with conventionality. Specifically, these studies tested the effects of photographic novelty in terms of preferences for viewing, viewing time, recall memory, and interest ratings for the photographs when seen alone and when seen in a newspaper. The experiments show that readers respond better to photographs that are novel, but only when the images are viewed on their own. These effects dissappear when photos are seen as part of newspaper pages. In this context, the only driving sources of interest seem to be the story topic.

On the function of the United States paparazzi: mosquito swarm or watchdogs of celebrity image control and power

One group of media practitioners is consistently viewed more negatively than others – the paparazzi. When the topic of the paparazzi arises, it is usually in reference to their relationship with celebrities and privacy. Rather than examining the celebrity–paparazzi issue through the lens of privacy, the purpose of this article is to reframe the issue by examining it through the lens of self‐presentation theory and image control. This requires thinking of celebrities less as individuals whose privacy is threatened and more as entities trying to present the most unified image possible in order to increase their cultural and economic power. Through this frame, the paparazzi fit squarely within a normative model of journalism, and can be thought of as investigative journalists attempting to uncover another ‘truth’ of celebrities.

‘X’-ing out enemies: Time magazine, visual discourse, and the war in Iraq

This article examines Time magazine’s visual discourse in its coverage of Iraq War insurgent Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s death. Time marked the event by using the same visual trope — a head crossed out by a red ‘X’ — used to mark the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and Adolf Hitler in 1945. The study provides a semiotic analysis of the cover, traces the historic development of the ‘X’, and compares it to rival Newsweek’s coverage. Time’s cover points to the way visuals are used to make journalistic statements that would not be acceptable to convey verbally. The study suggests that Time used Hitler imagery to establish authority by invoking its historical coverage. And by drawing such a close association between Hitler, Hussein, and al-Zarqawi, Time personalized group conflicts, presented a Manichean view of the world, attributed a false sense of finality to ambiguous events, and reinforced administration pro-war arguments.

A Qualitative Experiment: Research on Mediated Meaning Construction Using a Hybrid Approach

This article presents a hybrid methodological technique that fuses elements of experimental design with qualitative strategies to explore mediated communication. Called the “qualitative experiment,” this strategy uses focus groups and in-depth interviews within randomized stimulus conditions typically associated with experimental research. This mixed methods research draws on the advantages of qualitative inquiry to better understand meaning construction and gain a more holistic reading of response differences between varied groupings of mediated content.

Readers' interpretations of visual and verbal narratives of a National Geographic story on Saudi Arabia

Using a National Geographic magazine story on Saudi Arabia as a case study, this article examines how pictures and text in a photo story interact to produce meaning for readers. Specifically, it investigates how participants’ perceptions of Saudi Arabia differed when they were exposed only to the text of the article, only to its photographs, or to both text and photographs, using focus group interviews. Participants exposed only to the text saw it as a cohesive narrative. The ‘photos only’ groups tended to jump between photographs without a linear pattern. The ‘text and photos’ groups perceived the photo story as composed of two competing narratives, which made them uncomfortable. In addition, readers exposed to the visual narrative — even when combined with the textual narrative — expressed more stereotypical views of the subjects than those exposed to the text only. The photographs appeared to detract from the text’s ability to generate a more complex understanding of Saudi culture.

The Effects of Interactive Images and Goal-Seeking Behavior on Telepresence and Site Ease of Use

ABSTRACT An effective website is usable and engaging. In this article we investigate how navigation bar images and text may increase perceptions of website ease of use and interactivity. In an experiment we found that clickable images that accurately communicated the content they were linked to contributed to higher perceived levels of telepresence and stronger feelings that the website was easy to use. We also found that users responded strongest when images were coupled with text. We discuss the managerial and research implications of these findings.

Reality vs. Fiction How Defined Realness Affects Cognitive & Emotional Responses to Photographs

This experiment investigates cognitive and emotional effects related to changing the label ascribed to still photographs from fictional to real, while keeping the content constant. Viewers tended to react emotionally more strongly to photographs labeled as real, but they thought more about photographs labeled as fiction. Further, the label assigned to the photographs interacted with the viewers predisposition for learning from visual information. Results are discussed in terms of the need to focus on both content, individual differences, and viewing context factors for determining the meaning of photographs.

Seeing Themselves through the Lens of the Other: An Analysis of the Cross-Cultural Production and Negotiation of National Geographies “The Samurai Way” Story

More than any other publication, National Geographic magazine has taught Americans about the world around them. Recently, the magazines view of the world has become more complex. Since 1995, the magazine has been producing editions published in languages other than English. This raises questions as to how international audiences negotiate these “glocalized” representations. By investigating how the National Geographic “The Samurai Way” story resonates with Japanese individuals, this study first addresses the cross-cultural reception of an American text not simply exported to another country, but an American text repackaged for a local foreign audience. It then returns to the process of production of the story in an effort to identify points of intersection and contradiction in the discourses emerging about the text from multiple positions.

A Case Study of Deliberative Democracy on Television: Civic Dialogue on C-SPAN Call-in Shows

Call-in programs have been specifically designed to give citizens a venue for offering their perceptions on various topics. The purposes of this exploratory study were to examine the extent to which callers brought in new political ideas and incorporated values, solutions, and consequences in their comments and to analyze the reactions of hosts/guests on C-SPANs Washington Journal. Content analysis of 225 callers revealed 27 percent of caller-generated topics presented new political information. Callers talked longer when the topic was new rather than old; seldom were values, solutions, or consequences discussed. The results are discussed in relation to Yankelovichs work on public judgment.

For Whom is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words? Effects of the Visualizing Cognitive Style and Attention on Processing of News Photos

Abstract A study was conducted to examine the relationship of visualizing and verbalizing cognitive styles and the processing of news photographs. Theory predicts that attention will mediate the relationship between visualizing and photo memory, but not between verbalizing and memory. Both visualizing and attention predicted memory, but the mediational relationship was absent. High visualizers perceived the news photos as more interesting and more unified than low visualizers. Verbalizing level did not predict attention to or memory for the new photographs. The results are discussed in terms of visualizers’ efficiency in processing visual stimuli.