Journalism and Eyewitness Images

Mette Mortensen is Associate Professor in the Department of Media, Cognition and Communication at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

• Introduction: Eyewitness Images and Mediatized Conflict 1. The Eyewitness in the Media 2. Eyewitness Images as a Genre, Genres of Eyewitness Images 3. Mediatized Conflict 4. Counter-Images: Visual Censorship and the Challenges of Digital Media – the Snapshot of US Soldiers (2004) and the Bootleg Tape of Saddam Hussein’s Hanging (2006) 5. The Unintentional News Icon: The Canonization and Political Mobilization of the Footage of Neda Agha Soltan in the Post-Election Revolt Iran (2009) 6. Metacoverage and Mediatized Conflict: WikiLeaks’ Release of ‘Collateral Murder’ (2010) and the Transformation of the Information Flow 7. Citizen Investigation and Eyewitness Images: The Boston Marathon Bombing (2013) Conclusion

"This concise study examines the conflation of news media and the social phenomenon of individual citizens taking pictures and videos... Mortensen (Univ. of Copenhagen, Denmark) examines more than just the idea that the audience is now a partner in content creation; she provides several detailed examples... In contrast to books that offer broad examinations of journalism in the digital era (...) Mortensen's volume focuses precisely on the phenomenon of eyewitnesses as participants in the news dissemination process. Summing Up: Recommended."- D. Caristi, Ball State University, USA, in CHOICE"In Journalism and Eyewitness Images, Mette Mortensen provides an original account of images in conflicts such as wars, armed confrontation, and terrorism. The ability of citizens or participants to produce, distribute, and use images at times of conflict challenges the control and shaping of mediated conflict experiences. Mortensen offers a welcome account of the changing social relations and the ways eyewitness images have altered public access to information and news production."-Valerie Belair-Gagnon, Yale University, USA