Visual Communication Division
Extended Abstract • Cultural mediation through travel photography in news media • Ivy Ashe, The University of Texas at Austin • This study develops two new conceptual forms of cultural mediation, cultural reassurance and novelty presentation, in order to better explicate the means by which travel media images help shape perception of frequently-visited destinations. Findings show that novelty presentation was far more common than cultural reassurance, standing in contrast to how destinations are written about.
The Myth of American Exceptionalism Yesterday and Today: Robert Frank’s “Fourth of July ” • Christopher T. Assaf, University of Texas At Austin • This paper will examine and analyze Robert Frank’s photograph “Fourth of July – Jay, New York, 1954” through the critical framework of historical close reading as devised and used by Paul Hariman and John Louis Lucaites in No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs, Public Culture, and Liberal Democracy. The critical framework is grounded in a close rhetorical analysis and compositional interpretation of the photograph included in Frank’s foundational work The Americans in light of the backdrop of the myth of American exceptionalism.
Extended Abstract • Visualizing Citizenry-in-the-Making: Representations of youth protest in Reuters news photography • Elizabeth Bent; Shane Epping • Representations of youth in news media are one of a number of elements contributing to the wider discursive social construction of youth. While current research in journalism studies has explored images of protest and critically explored representations of other socially constructed categories, representations of youth within news discourses remains underexplored. This study applies a youth lens to a qualitative visual analysis of news photographs of worldwide youth protests. Findings suggest that representations of youth protesting future-oriented topics such as climate change are framed more positively and with more adherence to presumptions of “normal youth” activities. Youth are shown to practice their citizenship, rather than actively engage as real citizens in these contexts. The researchers suggest future inquiries into how youth as individuals and as a social category can provide useful insights in journalism studies.
Extended Abstract • Fun in the sun or something more serious?: An analysis of news story visuals about heat waves • Matthew Binford, University of Georgia; Laura Hudgens • While heat waves can be a potentially dangerous weather phenomenon they are often not depicted as such in the images chosen for news stories about periods of extreme heat. The present study used a content analysis to determine the prevalence of varying visual frames associated with news stories about heat waves. It was found that the most prevalent visual frame consisted of people engaging in some type of recreational activity.
Self-Disclosure and Intimacy in Computer-Mediated Communication Differentiating Emojis, Stickers and GIFs • Zhe Cui • This study investigated the differences between emojis, stickers, and GIFs regarding the different levels of intimacy they rose. A between-subject experiment (N = 317) with 4 conditions (text-only, text-emoji, text-sticker, and text-GIF) was conducted on WeChat. Results indicated that using pictorial expressions in computer-mediated communication (CMC) generate a more intimate experience than text-only communication. Moreover, using GIFs rose the highest level of intimacy due to the highest level of self-disclosure in certain situations.
Using subtitles to increase attention to pro-environmental videos on Facebook • Breanna Daugherty; Robin Blom, Ball State University • This eye-tracking study examined the extent to which the presence of a person and subtitles led to more attention to a pro-environmental video on a Facebook newsfeed as well as whether those visual elements were more or less important when study participants were exposed to the newsfeed in noisy conditions. Measuring total fixation duration for the video and total fixation duration specifically for the area of the video depicting subtitles, the results indicated that there was a higher attention to video conditions with subtitles, regardless of noisy or quiet circumstances. Presence of a spokesperson in the video did not lead to differences in visual attention. Overall, this warrants additional research to better understand how visual elements, in particular subtitles, in videos with pro-environmental messages affect visual attention.
Extended Abstract • Identifying Through Visuals: An Analysis of How Social Movements Use Facebook Photos. • Candice Edrington, North Carolina State University • The affordances of technology have changed the way we as individuals and organizations share information, create identification, and build relationships with others. In particular, social movements have used these affordances to their advantages by creating both social media pages to widely disseminate visual information regarding their advocacy and activist agendas. Black Lives Matter and March For Our Lives are two such movements. In consulting the Facebook pages of these movements, it was discovered that BLM uses their Timeline Photos album as a promotional tool while MFOL uses theirs as an informative tool. These findings provide theoretical and practical implications for visual communication and social movement scholars, particularly those interested in digital spaces. These implications provide insight into how visual communicators and other social movements can use different communication channels in ways other than to simply disseminate information, and how visual interactions can engage audiences.
Extended Abstract • Effects of facial recognition technology on perceptions of privacy • Muize Lemboye; Chris Etheridge, University of Arkansas at Little Rock • As facial recognition technologies (FRTs) have become increasingly popular components in today’s globalized society, this project aims to discover people’s perception on its effect on privacy. In-depth interviews were conducted with students and staff at a mid-sized Southern university to explore these perceptions. Findings indicate people typically do not know how their faces and information are used before signing up for online services but are aware that this information is available. The study also showed the privacy concerns people have about using FRTs on social media, applications, and online, the threats FRTs may invoke and the recommendations to protect one’s privacy from FRTs threats. Communication Privacy Management Theory is used to consider how facial recognition technology may impact individual perceptions of privacy.
Extended Abstract • The narrow-minded world in the free atmosphere of Twitter: Exploring the visual narratives and patterns of Personalized Journalism in the Yemen Civil War • Hasan Karademir; Shahira S Fahmy, The American University in Cairo • This preliminary analysis of Yemen war images shared in personal Twitter accounts of Western, Saudi, Yemeni and Iranian journalists, suggest the presence of different narratives and patterns of visual framing by journalists from different backgrounds. Our study here, therefore will contribute to the growing literature on journalistic practices on social media. It will allow for a deeper understanding of the extent and role of Personalized Journalism, specifically in the context of visual reporting on Twitter.
Extended Abstract • Discovering the secrets of successful photojournalism programs during industry decline • Sarah Fisher, University of Florida; John Freeman • When the news industry converted to online news, primarily between 2005 and 2010, major layoffs resulted in fewer positions for photojournalists. Typically, changes in any industry directly influence the demand for higher education programs that prepare students for that profession. Despite the major industry cutbacks, some photojournalism programs are not only managing to retain enrollment and stay afloat but are thriving. This study examines six thriving programs to discover their secrets of success.
Extended Abstract • ‘How the other half lives’ in Chicago: How Jane Addams’ Hull House used photography for reform • Robin Hoecker, DePaul University • This study examines how Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams and her Hull House settlement used photography in their advocacy work in Chicago in the late 1800s. It specifically looks at the book Tenement Conditions in Chicago, published in 1901, and compares it to Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives. Hull House largely followed a similar blueprint to Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives. Both projects documented cramped and dirty living conditions, and showed people working from their homes. They also emphasized the architecture of tenement buildings that left residents with little natural light or air flow. Besides showing children and families in squalor, Tenement Conditions in Chicago ends on a positive note by showing clean streets, clean children playing on playgrounds and planted trees on wide streets lined with sidewalks. One possible way to interpret this is through the horizontal leadership structure of Addams’ Hull House settlement, where reformers lived among the poor rather than parachuting in to document them, resulting in a more asset-based approach. Overall, this project expands the traditional canon in progressive-era photography beyond Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine, connecting Addams and Hull House to the history of photography and reform.
Extended Abstract • The Influence of Minimalist Package Design on Beauty Consumers’ Attitudes and Behavior Toward Cosmetic Products • Rachel Matthews; Toby Hopp, University of Colorado Boulder • “This study explored the degree to which various package design schemas influence people’s perception of cosmetic products. We predicted that despite the cosmetic industry’s wholesale adoption of “less-is-more” package design principles, people actually prefer elaborate package designs. The results of an experiment suggested that participants found complex package designs more visually pleasing than minimalistic package designs. Visual attractiveness was subsequently shown to have important implications for factors such as product quality perceptions and purchase intentions.”
Extended Abstract • Appealing to Brand Personification on Social Media: How Do Humanized Graphics and Texts Lead to Consumer Engagement in Brand Communications? • Hyun Ju Jeong; Jihye Kim, University of Kentucky • Brands are increasingly personifying themselves, particularly when they communicate with consumers on social media. Responding to this trend, this study aims to investigate whether and how personified brand visuals on social media fuel consumer engagement in brand communications. Using two online experiments, we examine two major visual strategies for brand personalization: brand graphics (anthropomorphic vs non-anthropomorphic) in a brand post (Study 1) and brand texts (human tone vs corporate tone) in a brand reply to a consumer post (Study 2). In Study 1, we find that the brand post with anthropomorphized brand graphics is more effective in generating the willingness of consumers to engage in brand communications than the brand post without any anthropomorphized brand graphics. Further, this effect is psychologically mediated by a sequence of two social perceptions consumers feel toward brands – perceived brand presence first, then perceived quality of consumer-brand relationships. In Study 2, we find the brand reply using a human tone is more effective in generating consumer willingness of engagement than the brand reply with a corporate tone. This effect is mediated by both a perceived brand presence and a perceived quality of consumer-brand relationships, as well as sorely by a perceived brand presence. While anthropomorphized brand graphics (Study 1) also directly influence consumer willingness of engagement, the human tone in brand texts (Study 2) has no direct impact on consumer willingness of engagement except through mediators. These findings highlight that both visual strategies for brand personification lead to persuasion in favor of brands indirectly through the core psychology of consumers that brands are socially present with them on social media. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed with specific reference to the strategic use of visual communication for brand personification to foster consumer engagement on social media.
Extended Abstract • It’s so meta: Metacommunicative storytelling on news organizations’ Instagram accounts • Miles Romney, Brigham Young University; Rich Johnson, Creighton University; Dustin Wilson, Creighton University; Emily Gamel, Creighton University; Molly Bohannon, Creighton University • Humans use visual narratives as a primary form of communication. Social media offers new narrative forms, as users add text or filters to photos. Such metacommunication can often alter the intrinsic narratives of a photograph but also result in increased audience engagement. Traditional photojournalism norms state that images should not be altered. This study examines whether metacommunicative news images receive more engagement and whether some outlets are more likely than others to share metacommunicative images.
Extended Abstract • CSR Advertising in Social Media: A Content Analysis of the Fashion Industry’s CSR Advertising on Instagram • Kyeongwon Kwon, Florida State University; Jaejin Lee, Florida State University • This study analyzes how the fashion industry responds to public pressure in terms of sustainability through CSR advertising in social media. The findings from the study indicate that the fashion industry uses strategic framing practices in CSR advertising to highlight their ethical practices to the public. In addition, fashion brands focus on sustainability efforts for the environment and visually communicate their CSR practices through a framework that highlights environmentally friendly messages in CSR advertising.
Extended Abstract • Judging photojournalism: The metajournalistic discourse of judges in two photojournalism competitions • Kyser Lough, University of Georgia • This study investigates how discussions during photojournalism award judging can be used as metajournalistic discourse to gain insight about the definition, boundaries and legitimization of the field. Photojournalism awards shape the field by showing what is valued, but the process of judging can also provide insight. The author carries this out through discourse analysis of publicly-available video of judging rounds from two photojournalism competitions, Best of Photojournalism (BOP) and Pictures of the Year International (POYi).
Extended Abstract • A Critical Race-Visual Communication Analysis of Immigration-Themed Memes • Mia Moody-Ramirez, Title; Emily Guajardo, 2006 • This study employs visual communication and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to study the public conversations that emerged in 2019 in light of the political focus on immigration and the rhetoric surrounding President Donald Trump’s emphasis on building a wall to deter Mexicans from immigrating to the United States. Specifically, it analyzes how individuals used memetic texts to virally spread cultural narratives about Mexicans and immigration. The most popular memes referred to pop culture icons, racial stereotypes and politicians. Findings indicate the most salient themes were primarily political in nature most often referring to Trump either to praise or criticize his administration for its efforts to deter immigration. Memes also included narratives of nativism to indicate Whites were not the first inhabitants of the United States. Study findings are important, as they extend CRT and document how memes are used to promote and counteract messages of hate.
Extended Abstract • A (meta) picture is worth a thousand “clicks”: a biometric analysis of images on Instagram • Lindsay Taele Mariner; Aaron Fitzner, Brigham Young University; Audrey Halversen; Jacob Gibb; Michael Shreeve; Miles Romney, Brigham Young University; Kevin John, Brigham Young University; Rich Johnson, Creighton University • This purpose of this study seeks to explore the types of images that generate key social media engagement metrics. Researchers conducted a biometric analysis of 21 randomly sampled Instagram images. Results indicate that social media images containing metacommunicative elements, as well as narrative themes, increase audience engagement. These findings offer insights into improving social media interactivity.
Extended Abstract • Peering Down at the Junkie: Authority and the Visual Construction in TIME’s Opioid Diaries • Alex Scott, University of Texas at Austin • Focusing on the special issue of TIME entitled “The Opioid Diaries,” this study examines the way drug users are visually framed through both an embodied image making process and a constructed end product. Using a multi-modal analysis, it argues that James Nachtwey’s images created a simplified view of addiction while inserting an asymmetrical power dynamic between the depicted subject and viewer. This study also examines how images can carry and construct discourses of drug use.
Extended Abstract • Ten years of longitudinal research of airliner disaster news photography: The case of The New York Times • Richard Lewis, University of Southern Mississippi; Jae-Hwa Shin, University of Southern Mississippi; Shahira S Fahmy, The American University in Cairo • This study bridges a gap in communication research by conducting a longitudinal visual framing analysis of airliner disaster news photographs. It extends past visual communication research on airliner crashes and other topics involving catastrophe that have attracted the attention of media scholars. We examine how photographs of crashes appearing in the New York Times between 2006 and 2016 were depicted by assessing frequencies of several variables, including subject, region, cause, tone, injury, and damage. We find human interest frames and negative emotion were most prevalent, indicating that empathy is the normal and appropriate viewer response.
Extended Abstract • Comics/graphic news: A spectrum of visual storytelling narratives from realistic to imaginative • Roma Subramanian • Through semi-structured interviews, this study investigated how creator of comics news define their craft and conceptualize their role. Findings revealed that comics journalism exists on a spectrum of visual storytelling practices that vary in their degree of realism. In terms of their professional identify, some participants were hesitant to identify themselves as journalists and used other terms to conceptualize their role, including, cartoonist and documentarian.
Picturing Presidential Power: Gender differences in photographic coverage of the 2019 Slovakian presidential election • Simona Mikušová, Comenius University, Department of Journalism; Wayne Wanta, University of Florida • Photographs published in two Slovakian newspaper were analyzed for gender differences in the country’s 2019 election. Overall, the two main candidates were depicted similarly. The female candidate and eventual winner, Zuzana Čaputová, however, tended to be depicted in more formal poses and with less emotion than her male rival. Thus, while the two candidates were similar on photographic techniques suggesting power, such as camera angles and prominent depictions of faces, the election winner was portrayed as more presidential.
Print friendly
