Journal article
Identity, Diversity, and Semiotic Innovation in Contemporary Photojournalism
The Howard journal of communications
05/22/2026
DOI: 10.1080/10646175.2026.2677535
Abstract
The social practice of photojournalism has been historically dominated by a Western male perspective, producing norms and standards of representation. An important dimension of this perspective is the esthetics, a primary resource for meaning-making that has been previously described as highly conventional and standardized. This study specifically focuses on the aesthetic dimensions of the Western male gaze and provides empirical evidence that stylistic diversity arises from increased racial and gender diversity in photojournalistic practice. Using a quantitative content analysis (N = 4390) of news images produced by 1128 photographers working for 51 news outlets and published by The New York Times, this study found that women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as men of color, utilize a wider range of pictorial styles than white men. This study details how semiotic innovation-the evolution of pictorial conventions, aesthetic treatment, and broader photographic approach-creates distinct accounts of the social world, affecting the symbolic relationship between represented persons and viewers, the making of place, and broader knowledge production through news images.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Identity, Diversity, and Semiotic Innovation in Contemporary Photojournalism
- Creators
- Alex Scott - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Howard journal of communications
- DOI
- 10.1080/10646175.2026.2677535
- ISSN
- 1064-6175
- eISSN
- 1096-4649
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Number of pages
- 23
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 05/22/2026
- Academic Unit
- School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- Record Identifier
- 9985174607402771
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