Reporting Distant Suffering: Photographic Representation of Famine in Turkish Newspapers
Famine is a serious problem that causes millions of people to suffer globally. During the 20th century, over 70 million people died due to famine while millions more had to endure the adverse conditions created by it. It is predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic will trigger a new wave of famine, affe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Istanbul University Press
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Connectist Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/9E9121E116F04ABD9E3661E9C7291CA0 |
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| _version_ | 1850206108974579712 |
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| author | Tuğba Taş Burcu Sümer Oğuzhan Taş |
| author_facet | Tuğba Taş Burcu Sümer Oğuzhan Taş |
| author_sort | Tuğba Taş |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Famine is a serious problem that causes millions of people to suffer globally. During the 20th century, over 70 million people died due to famine while millions more had to endure the adverse conditions created by it. It is predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic will trigger a new wave of famine, affecting 130 million people globally. The discourse on famine articulated by the media, which governs the visibility of distant people’s suffering and provides the audience with resources to imagine and understand that suffering is significant. Accordingly, this research sought to analyze the aspects of famine that are represented in photographs. A total of 517 news stories containing 659 photos were collected from the online editions of 30 daily newspapers published in Turkey between April 20, 2020, and August 30, 2021. Content and semiotic analysis was used in tandem as research methods in this study. The data were categorized as ‘human in famine,’ ‘approved personnel, relief distributors, and aid supplies,’ and ‘famine space.’ The results demonstrated that stereotyped representations of famine are common in pictures. It was determined that children’s photographs were used disproportionately often to depict famine; bodies in pain were a prevalent theme in the photographs; aid givers and aid materials were included in the representation of the famine; and aid centers and camps were the most frequently photographed locations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7d7500c710fd46cbba64c0a97c4fb574 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2636-8943 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Istanbul University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Connectist Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-7d7500c710fd46cbba64c0a97c4fb5742025-08-20T02:10:56ZengIstanbul University PressConnectist Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences2636-89432022-07-016214317210.26650/CONNECTIST2022-1054364123456Reporting Distant Suffering: Photographic Representation of Famine in Turkish NewspapersTuğba Taş0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0948-1683Burcu Sümer1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7340-9750Oğuzhan Taş2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5151-7155Ankara Üniversitesi, Ankara, TürkiyeAnkara Üniversitesi, Ankara, TürkiyeAnkara Üniversitesi, Ankara, TürkiyeFamine is a serious problem that causes millions of people to suffer globally. During the 20th century, over 70 million people died due to famine while millions more had to endure the adverse conditions created by it. It is predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic will trigger a new wave of famine, affecting 130 million people globally. The discourse on famine articulated by the media, which governs the visibility of distant people’s suffering and provides the audience with resources to imagine and understand that suffering is significant. Accordingly, this research sought to analyze the aspects of famine that are represented in photographs. A total of 517 news stories containing 659 photos were collected from the online editions of 30 daily newspapers published in Turkey between April 20, 2020, and August 30, 2021. Content and semiotic analysis was used in tandem as research methods in this study. The data were categorized as ‘human in famine,’ ‘approved personnel, relief distributors, and aid supplies,’ and ‘famine space.’ The results demonstrated that stereotyped representations of famine are common in pictures. It was determined that children’s photographs were used disproportionately often to depict famine; bodies in pain were a prevalent theme in the photographs; aid givers and aid materials were included in the representation of the famine; and aid centers and camps were the most frequently photographed locations.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/9E9121E116F04ABD9E3661E9C7291CA0turkeyfaminenewsphotographrepresentation |
| spellingShingle | Tuğba Taş Burcu Sümer Oğuzhan Taş Reporting Distant Suffering: Photographic Representation of Famine in Turkish Newspapers Connectist Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences turkey famine news photograph representation |
| title | Reporting Distant Suffering: Photographic Representation of Famine in Turkish Newspapers |
| title_full | Reporting Distant Suffering: Photographic Representation of Famine in Turkish Newspapers |
| title_fullStr | Reporting Distant Suffering: Photographic Representation of Famine in Turkish Newspapers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reporting Distant Suffering: Photographic Representation of Famine in Turkish Newspapers |
| title_short | Reporting Distant Suffering: Photographic Representation of Famine in Turkish Newspapers |
| title_sort | reporting distant suffering photographic representation of famine in turkish newspapers |
| topic | turkey famine news photograph representation |
| url | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/9E9121E116F04ABD9E3661E9C7291CA0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tugbatas reportingdistantsufferingphotographicrepresentationoffamineinturkishnewspapers AT burcusumer reportingdistantsufferingphotographicrepresentationoffamineinturkishnewspapers AT oguzhantas reportingdistantsufferingphotographicrepresentationoffamineinturkishnewspapers |