Interpretation of Newspaper Photography: A Case Study of NIN Magazine

Marija Vujović; Matra Mitrović

doi:10.25038/am.v0i22.379

Authors

Marija Vujović
Matra Mitrović

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i22.379

Keywords:

newspaper photography, interpretation, polysemy, manipulation, Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics

Abstract

The power of visual communication is undeniable for media theorists. Newspaper photography is an important and often dominant content in the media. One of its characteristics is polysemy, the possibility of having different interpretations based on one’s knowledge and experience, but also social and historical context. A photo on the front page of NIN magazine published on November 27, 2019, showing a weapon – a rifle – aimed at Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić during his visit to a weapons fair caused severe public criticism, and was removed from the front page by decision of publisher Ringier Axel Springer. The research question is whether the editor’s choice of this specific front-page photo complies with the provisions of the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics, and whether the decision to remove it was justified.

Article received: May 20, 2020; Article accepted: June 30, 2020; Published online: September 20, 2020; Original scholarly paper

Author Biographies

Marija Vujović

Marija Vujović was born in 1980 in Aleksinac, Serbia, and finished primary and secondary grammar school in Niš. She graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Belgrade, Journalism and Communication Studies in 2007. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2016 at the University of Arts in Belgrade, with the doctoral thesis entitled “Comparative Analysis of Advertising Photographs and Gender Representation in Socialism and Transition Period in Serbia”. She has worked at the Department of Communicology and Journalism at the Faculty of Philosophy since 2008, firstly as an associate and later as an assistant professor. Her areas of interest include media theory, documentary photography, documentary film, and gender studies. She has published scientific papers in national and international journals and proceedings. She is the head of the project called “The Introduction of the New Course Digital Photography in the Media” at the Graduate Journalism Studies program at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš, as part of the project “The Development of Higher Education” conducted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development. She also participates in projects organized by the Faculty of Philosophy in Nis, called the “Local Media of the Nisava District in the Digital Age” and “The Youth and Media Challenges”.

Matra Mitrović

Marta Mitrović was born in 1989 in Leskovac, Serbia. In 2012 she graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy, Journalism department, at the University of Niš. She received her master's degree from the same faculty in 2013. She is currently a student of Doctoral Studies in Culture and Media at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade. During the 2013-14 academic year, she worked as a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Niš, Department of Communication Science and Journalism. Since 2014-15, she has worked as a teaching fellow in the same department. Her areas of interest are information society, global information and communication systems, internet management, etc. She participates in the national project called “Sustainability of the Identity of Serbs and National Minorities in the Border Municipalities of Eastern and Southeastern Serbia”, as well as in projects organized by the Faculty of Philosophy in Nis, titled “Local Media of the Nisava District in the Digital Age” and “The Youth and Media Challenges”.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i22.379 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i22.379