Pictures don’t simply appear – Marketing professionals in media make conscious decisions on the images they will portray in their specific communication mediums.   These strategic decisions are usually based on the media’s analysis of present perceptions of the intended audience or designed in relation to the media’s objectives for altering audience perceptions.

When the media supports a politician or celebrity, the picture will be calm and friendly. When the media wants to disenfranchise the audience from the person, they will use confronting or ugly pictures.   This practice will likely increase with the new use of AI for graphics.

This entry is primarily focused on the critical theory of the Frankfurt School. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/critical-theory/

By Blake Escudier Ph.D.

These headlines were posted on the same day, next to each other.