Some of the imagery used by the media to portray the Syrian refugee crisis was some of the most harrowing seen in modern times.  The images were typified by that of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi lying face down on a beach in Turkey having drowned in his attempted escape from Syria.

Research from the Missouri School of Journalism suggests such images were typical of the reporting of the crisis, and helped to create a perception of the refugees as victims.  The authors believe their findings highlight the important role photojournalists play in not only conveying the story but shaping perceptions.

“Typically, powerful or shocking photos of migrants get the greatest reaction,” the authors explain. “However, those potentially dark moments don’t always capture the full scope of the event. Photojournalists and news organizations have a big opportunity to tell a greater story.”

Storytelling

The researchers analyzed around 800 photos taken from the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis, with all having been submitted for the 2016 Picture of the Year International competition.  Of these entries, over 600 depicted the refugees as victims who were either being detained in refugee camps or who were dependent upon foreign aid.  Indeed, just 186 of the entries showed the migrants having any kind of agency over their circumstances, with just a solitary photo portraying the refugee in an educational setting.

This imagery is important as for many people it’s their primary means of making sense of a situation.  For instance, if people are captured in battles with police at a border, people might assume that the situation is militarized, whereas if migrants are captured in a more mundane way, readers will get a very different picture.  Regardless of the way situations are portrayed however, it’s inevitable that readers will parse the images through their own belief system.

“Research shows that people view photos through their own frame of reference and judge them accordingly,” the authors explain. “For example, a person who believes migrants are a threat might find that a photo of a migrant throwing tear gas at a border officer enforces their opinion, but they might reject an image of a migrant shown in a more peaceful light as a one-time thing.”

The authors suggest that news organizations have greater awareness of the role visual imagery has in augmenting the written stories they use to frame a migration event.  Indeed, the photos used can play an important role in portraying the bigger picture than words alone.

“There needs to be a greater discussion on telling the broader story—a migrant’s story doesn’t end once they cross the sea or make it through the border,” they conclude. “If news organizations leave out what happens to migrants once they’ve settled in to a new place and are working to make a new life, they might be missing out on a huge opportunity.”