Exploratory Analysis of Photographic Imagery as used In Irish Printed Daily Newspapers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine visual representation of our society in the news sections of Irish printed daily national newspapers and to analyse the power distribution that traverses these images for evidence of hegemonic tendencies. There are a small number of American studies of newspaper visuals similar to this one, but this study will fill a gap in the literature on Irish newspaper photography. Power is part of the fabric of our society and can be a destructive force when those without power suffer restricted freedom. The mass media play a pivotal role in the discourse of power relationships, in particular through visual representation, building up an impression in society's psyche about how to think about the other. When a group is repeatedly represented in a certain light , these images establish the dominant thinking on this group and may even sufficiently influence the group itself, compelling them into a particular pattern of behaviour. At the core of this study is the argument, by portraying groups repeatedly in certain ways, either negatively or positively, the media may be advancing and normalising dominant ideologies which tend to benefit the already wealthy and powerful. Through an extensive content analysis of the photographs in the news sections of a cross-section of Irish daily newspapers,this study uncovers evidence that supports the hypothesis that press photographs in Irish printed newspapers support a dominant patriarchal ideology by collectively under-representing and marginalising females.