PHOTOGRAPHS AND CARTOONS AS COMMUNICATION INSTRUMENTS
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PHOTOGRAPHS AND CARTOONS AS COMMUNICATION INSTRUMENTS
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study.
Picture reporting is the most information and skill-intensive aspect of journalism. According to Gelnshain (2002), the industrial revolution had a profound impact on the development of press photography;
the first book with lithographic illustration (pictures) emerged in 1840. The photos were chosen based on the criteria used in testing subjects, which stabilises display.
Following this groundbreaking work, two publications, London Labour and the London Poor, debuted in British critical studies. According to Peter (2009.p.6), the use of images as a graphical presentation began with books
and the transfer of this experience to periodicals came quickly, in May 1842. This is when Herbet Ingram established the renowned illustrated London News. The journal focused largely on visual content.
According to Anderson (2014.p.140), photojournalism is a branch of journalism that employs photos to tell stories and record events. It differs from other types of photography, including commercial, architectural, and industrial photography.
This can be observed in its devotion to key journalism standards such as news, timeliness, objectivity, impartiality, and accurate reporting of events.
Photojournalism is the use of a camera to document events as they occur. A photojournalist, like a news reporter, is a reporter who writes with a camera and disseminates information through photographs.
Photojournalists utilise photographs to tell stories, assess events, and express their opinions about society as journalists working for a better society (Harding, 2012).
The introduction of photos automatically printed into newspapers expanded the market for press photography. Pictures were primarily taken for their action and content, rather than for aesthetic value. Today, they are utilised in newspapers for a variety of purposes. The other reason was George Eastman’s invention of tiny cameras, which were in use at the time.
Thus, convenient cameras enabled photojournalists to readily and swiftly document news occurrences. They were able to snap shots that were previously impossible to take, such as at night and in motion, thanks to technical advancements.
Henri Cartier-Bresson, a Frenchman who laboured to chronicle what he called the “decisive moment” from 1930 to 2004, was a leading photojournalist.
Cartier-Bresson thought that the dynamics of any given situation will eventually reach a point where a photographer could get the most dramatic image conceivable.
Photojournalists have evolved into visual interpreters, utilising their cameras and experience to give readers a sense of what an event was truly like. Meanwhile, in the past, photojournalists relied on artists to create reproductions of their photographs, which were then engraved into a zinc plate (Aliagan, 2006).
The plate was then produced using a Hoe rotary press. Due to the lengthy procedure, it took several days before these line-drawn renderings of images appeared on the main page of the newspaper.
The development of photography and photojournalism may be traced back to two important events around the end of the nineteenth century. The first is a technological innovation.
This includes the development of roll film, smaller cameras, quicker lenses, and the perfecting of the half tone process of printing images as a succession of light and dark dots, allowing newspaper publishers to reprint photographs quickly and inexpensively.
Photographs in journalism serve to teach, educate, and enlighten readers about contemporary issues while also reflecting on the past. Photographs in newspapers increase the trustworthiness of the stories. They reflect reality while also providing evidence to establish the veracity of a news item or proof of an incident that occurred.
A photograph’s aesthetic values allow it to be used as a technique to draw readers’ attention and break up the monotony of news articles. Thus, images enrich and beautify newspaper pages (Gervais, 2005). Aside from actively constructing the image in front of the camera, photo altering with tools such as Adobe Photoshop is nearly always condemned under photojournalism ethics.
This is debatable, however normal photo post-production components like as smoothing out wrinkles on a person’s face, improving the colours of a place, or adjusting the contrast could all be deemed apparent violations of photojournalist ethics.
In recent years, there have been numerous high-profile incidents of photojournalists being fired from prominent journals for minor changes made during photo editing. This could include changing the colour of the sky in a photo.
This change in sky colour may signal or lessen the appearance of pollution, modify the interpretation of the season, and even shift the perspective of the subjects. Bose, (2002).
All of these alterations would be diametrically opposed to the photojournalist project’s framework and would constitute a serious violation. Photo editing can be employed in certain cases, but it should be kept to an absolute minimum if it is to adhere to the rigorous ethical standards connected with photojournalism.
A photograph in a newspaper can convey more information than words alone. Understanding an image does not require any formal schooling. As a result, photographs can successfully express a message despite literacy barriers. It’s a universal language.
Cartoons are nonverbal graphic communication channels used by media organisations to express their thoughts, perspectives, and discoveries.
They are used to express a perspective in amusing ways and are frequently focused on current, hot, and relevant concerns. Print media primarily uses them to educate, enlighten, and entertain its audiences (Emi, 2008).
Furthermore, the need for investigative journalism has emphasised the watchdog role of newspapers because there are two sides to humans: the godly and the animalistic. The godly side of humans behaves in good manners, whereas the animalistic side of humans is the evil side, as evidenced by various wrongdoings or atrocities committed by man.
It also demonstrates the human need to control, to gratify base instincts of wealth gain, and to indulge in evil or sensual cravings. Humans are expected to be rational, but rationality does not always ensure good behaviour because their animalistic impulses usually triumph. As a result, the media must expose evil and bring criminals to justice in order for human civilisations to avoid becoming like the animal realm, full of evil.
There is also a need to curb the excesses of the powerful or privileged against the less privileged, to hold rulers accountable to their people, to implement social reforms, to expose crime and other wrongdoings, and to speak up for the voiceless, among other things (Aina 2001).
Also, the claim that Nigeria is one of the world’s most corrupt countries is not exaggerated. International organisations have continually testified to this irrefutable fact. To back up their accusations, the country has observed several forms of corrupt acts.
This must have perplexed the previous regime, led by Chief Olusegun Obasajo, to the point where he felt it necessary to establish organisations to combat corrupt practices among citizens.
Two such organisations are the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EECC). After a few years of operation, many people refer to them as a toothless bulldog organisation.
The press is the sole organisation on which Nigerians can rely to combat corruption through in-depth news reporting, opinions, comments, editorials, editorial cartoons, and so on.
Watson (2008) claims that the media is a prominent public arbitrator of human behaviour. Many people have deemed cartoons in newspapers to be equally capable of serving as a society watchdog. This is the question the researcher hopes to address.
1.2 Statement of Problem
The study will look at the consequences and significance of crime illustration in improving the role of newspaper cartoons as watchdogs in society.
It is to determine the impact of comic illustration on readers and the extent to which cartoons have served as a watchdog for society.
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