To See and Be Seen: The Environments, Interactions and Identities Behind News Images

To See and Be Seen explores the ideological, aesthetic, pragmatic, institutional, cultural, commercial, environmental, and psychological forces that shape the production of news images and their reception. It provides one of the first empirical and real-time glimpses into the experience of being in front of a journalist's lens, and the results of Thompson's research provide insights into the stories behind images.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 186 pages
Publication date: 15 March 2022
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Whether inscribed in physical media, projected on surfaces, or viewed on digital devices, we are constantly inundated with streams of visual data. Yet, we know surprisingly little about how these images are made, especially in journalistic contexts where representations are long-lasting and where repercussions can be dramatic. To See and Be Seen examines some of the ideological, aesthetic, pragmatic, institutional, cultural, commercial, environmental, and psychological forces that consciously or otherwise shape the production of news images and subsequently influence their reception. T. J. Thomson examines the expectations, experiences, and reactions of those depicted by visual journalists and considers other relevant factors: how do everyday people perceive cameras and those who operate them? How are identities visually represented and presented to different audiences? And how does the physical and socially constructed environment shape those depictions? The results of Thomson's research provide one of the first empirical and real-time glimpses into the experience of being in front of a journalist's lens. To See and Be Seen enables us to understand the stories behind images by considering the environment in which such images are made, the exchange (if one occurred) between the camera-wielding observer and the observed, the identities of both parties, and how they react to the representations that are created. To See and Be Seen is the winner of the National Communication Associations 2020 Diane S. Hope Book of the Year Award. NCA reviewers called the book "a signature achievement in understanding the process of media production and the ethics of photojournalism."

Weight: 281g
Dimension: 219 x 154 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781538148020