The Evolution Of Photojournalism
Katelyn Anderson
Comm 100 Mass Media and Society
Dr. Huan Chen
Final Research Paper
The Evolution of Photojournalism
For decades stories have been printed to spread news to readers around the world, but it was the conception of photojournalism which created the real capturing of events and brought stories to life for readers. It was a photo that captured the execution of a suspected Vietnam terrorist and the terror of a young girl on fire that shocked readers around the globe and changed the way they viewed the Vietnam War. It was a photo of the battleship Maine sinking near Cuba that increased popularity and support for Cuban independence from Spain and U.S. involvement in the Spanish-American War. It was a combination of photos of the Great Depression and the Korean War that changed the way people viewed the world. Photography creates a “real life” perspective of stories and events and adds aesthetic pleasure that a written story alone cannot do. It is this reason that photojournalism became popularized and took on such a significant role in broadcasting and news coverage. Photojournalism can be observed in political, sports and entertainment magazines, adding pictorial narrative and realistic depictions of events for readers. Some of the earliest and most influential examples of photojournalism can be seen in magazines such as Life and Time capturing images of World War II, but this phenomenon quickly spread, covering political features and stories. The increase of photojournalism in political coverage became significant with assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. Although the introduction of television brought public, live coverage of the tragic event, photojournalists consumed the important role of capturing the event and its aftermath as visual documentation. This important role also stood true for many other events in the 1960s, including the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement. This important role of capturing momentous events is still seen
Comm 100 Mass Media and Society
Dr. Huan Chen
Final Research Paper
The Evolution of Photojournalism
For decades stories have been printed to spread news to readers around the world, but it was the conception of photojournalism which created the real capturing of events and brought stories to life for readers. It was a photo that captured the execution of a suspected Vietnam terrorist and the terror of a young girl on fire that shocked readers around the globe and changed the way they viewed the Vietnam War. It was a photo of the battleship Maine sinking near Cuba that increased popularity and support for Cuban independence from Spain and U.S. involvement in the Spanish-American War. It was a combination of photos of the Great Depression and the Korean War that changed the way people viewed the world. Photography creates a “real life” perspective of stories and events and adds aesthetic pleasure that a written story alone cannot do. It is this reason that photojournalism became popularized and took on such a significant role in broadcasting and news coverage. Photojournalism can be observed in political, sports and entertainment magazines, adding pictorial narrative and realistic depictions of events for readers. Some of the earliest and most influential examples of photojournalism can be seen in magazines such as Life and Time capturing images of World War II, but this phenomenon quickly spread, covering political features and stories. The increase of photojournalism in political coverage became significant with assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. Although the introduction of television brought public, live coverage of the tragic event, photojournalists consumed the important role of capturing the event and its aftermath as visual documentation. This important role also stood true for many other events in the 1960s, including the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement. This important role of capturing momentous events is still seen