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Cited by 4Media Studies and CommunicationJournalism and Media StudiesCommunication and COVID-19 Impact

Perceptions of imagery in tragic news: a comparative study of news audiences

Open access
Ruhl Ibarra, Gabriela, Hermans, Liesbeth, Kleemans, Mariska·2025·Journalism Studies
DOI 10.1080/1461670x.2025.2466599
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Abstract

The visual portrayal of tragic events in news media has been widely debated. While some scholars advocate for the occasional use of graphic imagery, others support the exclusive publication of non-graphic or sanitized images to shield the audience. To address this controversy, ample research has focused on the perspectives of journalism professionals. However, little attention has been given to how audiences perceive these different portrayals. To better understand their opinions and feelings towards the visual representation of tragedies in news, we conducted qualitative in-depth interviews (N = 25). Participants were recruited from Mexico and Germany due to their contrasting sociocultural contexts and the distinctive methods of reporting and portraying tragic incidents. Findings indicate that reactions and opinions to news images are influenced by the viewer’s news consumption habits, the narrative context of the stories, and the content of the images themselves. In addition, Mexicans and Germans held contrasting views on which images should be published, highlighting the need for journalists to consider the specific sensitivities and needs of different populations.

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  • Users are continuously exposed via social platforms to war reporting, videos, and commentary, rather than relying solely on state narratives.

    “Rather than relying solely on state narratives, users are continuously exposed—via social platforms—to war reporting, videos, and commentary.”

    From Toward a humanized technology: a reinterpretation of Erich Fromm’ s humanistic peace psychology (2026) · cites this paper as Ruhl Ibarra et al., 2025

    The “Perceptions Based on News Consumption Habits” section (page unavailable) reports that some participants get news through social media, including posts by private individuals, and value its less-filtered view of events. It does not establish continuous exposure to war reporting, videos, and commentary or compare these sources with state narratives. The same section says German participants encountered tragic news infrequently and rarely used social media for news. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The rise of networked media and real-time communication has immersed societies in a torrent of conflict content.

    “The rise of networked media and real-time communication has immersed societies in a torrent of conflict content (Ruhl Ibarra et al., 2025).”

    From Toward a humanized technology: a reinterpretation of Erich Fromm’ s humanistic peace psychology (2026) · cites this paper as Ruhl Ibarra et al., 2025

    The Discussion reports frequent exposure to tragic news and graphic content in Mexico, but substantially less exposure in Germany. Perceptions Based on News Consumption Habits says some participants encounter more graphic content on social media than in mainstream news. Neither passage establishes that the rise of networked media and real-time communication has immersed societies generally in a torrent of conflict content. (LLM, conf=0.81)

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Authors
Ruhl Ibarra, G., Hermans, L., & Kleemans, M.
Affiliations
  • Radboud University
  • Windesheim University of Applied Sciences (NL)
  • Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
ORCID
Venue
Journalism Studies
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2025-02-19
Volume
26
Issue
9
Pages
1070-1091
ISSN
  • 1461-670X (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-9699
DOI
10.1080/1461670x.2025.2466599
OpenAlex
W4407740067
Cited by
4
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 1
FWCI
4.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journalism Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Media Studies and Communication
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Journalism and Media Studies
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
Keywords
audience perception, news consumption habits, narrative context, cross-cultural comparison

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