Online Discussion #4: Campaign Photography
Campaign photography has been around since the 1960s. The photographs presented to the
public play a role (directly or indirectly) in the voter’s ultimate decision at the poll. The
photographer or photojournalist’s role is to document the candidates’ messages as well as the
candidates as individuals. Both still and video photography are used in political TV and print
ads. Traditionally TV and print political ads are highly valued in battle states and can close
margins between candidates. This does not seem to be the case in the 2016 presidential election.
Below are a few links related to this topic. Please browse and get a feel for the subject before you
respond to my prompts. Please feel free to look up additional articles that relate to your
perspective. Please post those link(s) within your response so the rest of us may check them out.
• http://www.businessinsider.com/presidential-election-photography-over-the-years-2016-
9/#when-it-came-to-curating-images-for-this-show-carlson-and-the-team-cast-a-wide-
net-2
• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/2016-campaign-photographers-lens/
• http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/presidential-campaign-in-
pictures.html
• http://www.ap.org/Content/Press-Release/2016/100-years-of-presidential-campaign-
photography
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/do-campaigns-really-change-voters-
minds/2012/07/06/gJQAEljyRW_story.html?utm_term=.94a406bb9f2f
• http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/08/19/432759311/2016-campaign-tv-ad-
spending
• http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/heres-how-social-media-will-impact-the-2016-
presidential-election/634434
Part 1 of this assignment: Please post your answers to my questions. At the end of your answers,
paste links to the article(s) that informed your answers. Include additional links to other articles
you found if applicable (14pts).
Part 2 of this assignment: Respond to 2 classmates' posts (6pts).
My Prompts:
I’d like you to take the concept of Campaign Photography one step further and consider social
media in the mix. Consider the following questions:
1. Did social media trump (pardon the pun) the place of traditional TV and print advertising
in the 2016 election campaign?
2. Would social media still produce the same result/effect if there are no visual images
attached?
3. Will social media’s effects in the 2020 election differ from the 2016 election? Why or
why not?
