Representation of power relations in Ethiopian newspaper front page photographs: A semiotic analysis
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Date
2006-11
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study examines the representation of social power relations in Ethiopian
newspaper front page photographs. The portrayal of power relations between citizens
through front page photos was investigated via semiotic analysis of photographs of
the human figure. The researcher coded photographs of ordinary citizens and
prominent persons and examined how meanings are created through signifiersignified
relationships and denotative and connotative meanings attached to the
photographs. The major coding parameters were coverage, portrayal, appearance, and
activities persons in the photographs perform. The coding objects were The Ethiopian
Herald (government-owned), Fortune (private) and The Reporter (private).
A major finding was that powerful persons were overwhelmingly dominant on the
front pages. They tended to be portrayed positively, sometimes heroic. Ordinary
people, on the contrary, had less coverage and were portrayed as victims rather than
as newsmakers, experts, or citizens reacting to existing events. The power relations
between citizens of different classes can, therefore, be said unequal in the studied
newspapers. This implies that interests of the common people, and a balanced
participation in communication and democratisation processes of the country have not
been foregrounded.
The study suggests that the needs and interests of the mass are under-represented,
while the few in power are over-represented, and the media influences this
representational role. The media outlets under scrutiny, reinforces this
representational inequality. The study found that the media do not challenge the
conception that only the powerful citizens are newsmakers. The study therefore
concludes with a critical note on the role of the media in democratization of
communication, which should give all citizens a chance to be fairly represented in the
media.
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Keywords
newspaper