Nicole Smith Dahmen

The contextualist function: US newspaper journalists value social responsibility

A survey (N = 1318) evaluated US newspaper journalists’ attitudes toward contextual reporting – stories that go beyond the immediacy of the news and contribute to societal well-being. Results indicated that journalists highly value professional roles associated with contextual reporting. Responses revealed new journalistic role functions, including the ‘Contextualist’, who placed high value on being socially responsible and accurately portraying the world. Analyses showed that younger journalists and female journalists highly valued three genres of contextual reporting: constructive journalism, solutions journalism, and restorative narrative. Additionally, a journalist’s belief in activist values such as setting the political agenda and pointing to possible solutions predicted more favorable views of all three forms of contextual journalism, while belief in an adversarial attitude predicted less favorable views of restorative narrative.

Images of Resilience: The Case for Visual Restorative Narrative

A recently labeled genre of journalistic storytelling, termed “restorative narratives,” intends to cover the story beyond the immediacy of the breaking news, and in doing so, to help individuals and communities move forward in the wake of large-impact events. Specifically, this research emphasizes visual reporting, which functions both effectively and in concert with the tenets of restorative narrative. Through photographic analysis and in-depth interviews with visual journalists, the study concludes that visual restorative narrative can potentially provide a venue for the professional photojournalist that is beyond the scope of what can be accomplished with citizen-provided content. And, in doing so, restorative narrative can indeed be a future—and thus a sustaining value—for visual journalism.

Place, Space, Time

Media gatekeeping has been a critical theoretical tenet in the formation of iconic images. Traditionally, news photographs became iconic, in large part, through their prominent placement on elite newspaper front pages. But as we move away rapidly from print news towards a digital news environment, what is the effect on this traditional tenet of iconicity? Additionally, with the rise of social media, elite media outlets are no longer the sole gatekeepers. Within the age of digital news and social media, this research seeks to understand differences between identification of iconic imagery, comparing a prompt of commonly used elite media images to an unprompted response in an effort to ascertain which images are, in fact, considered most iconic by audiences. The research also considers events across time, from historic events to more recent events that have fallen within the timeframe of the rise of digital news and social media. Findings indicate that the democratization of the news via social media has had the unanticipated effect of rescinding the uniformity of collective visual consciousness and the traditional formation of iconic imagery. Indeed, elite media outlets are no longer the sole dictators of “crowning images.”

Covering Mass Shootings

Using data from a national survey of US newspaper journalists (N = 1318), this study examines attitudes toward news coverage of mass shootings. Following Shoemaker and Reese’s hierarchical model, the analysis also considers how individual characteristics, journalistic practices, and organizational factors influence these attitudes. Participants generally agreed that coverage had become routine. Journalists were largely supportive of coverage of perpetrators and were ambivalent about acknowledging a relationship between media coverage and a contagion, or “copycat,” effect. A participant’s age was generally the strongest predictor of attitudes toward media reporting on mass shootings. Findings also indicate differences in attitude according to job title, role perception, and whether or not a journalist had covered a mass shooting. A majority of respondents appeared to favor traditional, “neutral” approaches to coverage of mass shootings; however, journalists also wanted to see more comprehensive reporting, including coverage of solutions and community resilience.

Putting Broadcast News in Context: An Analysis of U.S. Television Journalists’ Role Conceptions and Contextual Values

Contextual journalism calls for depth of news reporting rather than “just the facts.” A national survey of local television (TV) journalists indicated the increasing popularity of this more comprehensive reporting form. Although news sociologists contend that local TV routines facilitate the production of quick, less substantive stories, TV respondents in the present study highly valued comprehensive, contextual news styles—even more than newspaper journalists. Building on the work of Weaver and colleagues’ “American Journalist” project, TV news workers in this survey preferred contextual roles, such as alerting the public of potential threats and acting in a socially responsible way, but also valued traditional broadcasting roles, such as getting information to the public quickly. TV news roles were compared to those of newspaper journalists to analyze how professionals in different media view their work identities.

Visually Reporting Mass Shootings: U.S. Newspaper Photographic Coverage of Three Mass School Shootings:

Given the intense news coverage that mass shootings receive and recent findings on contagion effects, it is important to examine how news media organizations cover these crimes. While reporting the “who” of news is a standard journalistic practice, there is growing debate regarding the extent to which the perpetrators of mass shootings should be named, pictured, and discussed in news media coverage. Within the theoretical framework of agenda-setting, this study examined U.S. newspaper photographic coverage following three major school shootings. Through content analysis of 4,934 photographs from 9 days of newspaper coverage, this study made several key findings about the overall prominence of photo use, changes in photo use during the 3 days following mass shootings, and comparisons between photos of perpetrators and victims. In particular, the study found empirical evidence that on a photos-per-individual basis, the coverage gave more attention to perpetrators than to individual deceased victims by a ratio of 16 to 1. Given contagion effects, this study finding raises serious concerns about current practices in news media publication of perpetrator photos. Although the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics encourages news media members to seek truth and report it, the code also emphasizes moral imperatives to “balance the public’s need for information against potential harms” and “avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.”

The (in)disputable ‘power’ of images of outrage: public acknowledgement, emotional reaction, and image recognition:

A recent news image – that of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed ashore on the Turkish coast as a result of refugees fleeing the ongoing war in Syria – resonated with international audiences and world leaders, becoming a seeming catalyst for action. But, as time has shown, the effect was short-lived. Through survey data, this research explores iconic images and visual collective memory throughout history and into the era of digital news and social media. More specifically, the research considers connections between public acknowledgement, emotional reaction, and image recognition. Studying such relationships will help us to further understand the (in)disputable ‘power’ that famous photographs possess to imprint themselves onto people’s minds, thus leading to supposed effect and action.

The Depth of Hurricane Katrina Imagery: A Longitudinal Study Through the Lens of Commemorative Journalism and Iconicity

This longitudinal research uses content analysis and survey data to consider both news media presentation and audience interpretation of images from the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina within the theoretical frameworks of iconic imagery and commemorative journalism. The data show that imagery themes, rather than select images, are remembered regarding Hurricane Katrina. Comparing print and digital news as sites of media content, and in consideration of commemorative journalism, the data showed that while print news focused on current visual imagery best classified as “moving forward,” digital news galleries focused on original visual imagery best classified as “looking back,” with internet space functioning in such a way as to make historic images ubiquitous, and, in a sense, permanent.

“Moving” the Pyramids of Giza: Measuring the Effects of Ethics Education in a Visual Communication Curriculum

As mass communication scholars and educators, we should be greatly concerned about how we teach ethics to our students. This research posits improving the quality of mass communication education with the intention of producing top-notch journalists who are dedicated to raising the credibility of the profession. Specifically, the research assesses the effects of integrating ethical content within a visual communication course, focusing on two critical and timely issues in visual journalism: the acceptability of graphic photographs and image manipulation. Findings showed significant differences in how participants viewed selected ethical issues in visual journalism from time 1 to time 2.

Obama and Romney photos receive equal treatment

This research examines photographs of candidates in the 2012 presidential general election to understand how newspapers presented Obama and Romney. Significant differences existed in regard to behavior, context and perspective, but photo coverage was balanced on the whole.