Image policies in visual journalism: a study on the practice, teaching and research of visual journalism in Spain: seeking an image policy for image in politics

• Grant number: 13/21673-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: December 01, 2013
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Communications - Journalism and Publishing
• Principal Investigator: Luciano Guimarães
• Grantee: Luciano Guimarães
• Host Investigator: Francisco Sierra Caballero
• Host Institution: Escola de Comunicações e Artes (ECA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad de Sevilla (US), Spain

Abstract

This research "IMAGE POLICIES IN VISUAL JOURNALISM: A Study on the Practice, Teaching and Research of Visual Journalism in Spain - seeking an image policy for image in politics" aims to investigate the three dimensions encompassing visual journalism today derived from experiences in Spain, home to key articulators of a specific field in visual journalism, such as Mario García, José Manuel De Pablos, Alberto Cairo, and José Luis Valero Sancho. Spain is also home to the world's two main design and redesign offices for newspapers (Cases i Associats and García Media) and is host to the Malofiej Infographics Award, a major newspaper infographics award now in its 20th edition. This study is situated within the context of image culture, visibility crisis, image saturated media, and the economy of visual signs carried out by today's mediatic society. Furthermore, this study aims to make a significant contribution to my quest in the preparation, organization and description of epistemological support for Visual Journalism within the field of Communications, stemming from my central interest in investigating discursive production strategies with a focus on journalistic product with a strong visual appeal. Since one of the prerequisites of this approach is to take an empowering step towards understanding the political realm of the image to go beyond the current stage of technical maturity and language of visual journalism, this study seeks to investigate the coverage of political news to deepen our understanding of issues involving professional ethics, therefore revealing the intentions, strategies and/or failures behind the practice or teaching of visual journalism. (AU)