A Comparative Study of Local and Foreign Online Media Photography After Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban

2013-56219Corinna Victoria C. MartinezUniversity of the Philippines Diliman

Abstract

A Comparative Study of Local and Foreign Online Media Photography After Typhoon Haiyan in TaclobanThree hundred seventy miles wide, with gusts of up to two hundred thirty-five miles per hour, and a storm surge of sixteen feet high, Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, battered provinces all over the Visayas. Over sixteen million people were affected and more than six thousand were found dead. Cities were left unrecognizable, with one of the most badly hit cities being Tacloban City ("NDRRMC: Yolanda Death Toll up to 5,670, Damage at P34 Billion.", 2013). In order to relieve the masses of people whom Typhoon Haiyan devastated, massive relief efforts had to be undertaken. It was estimated by the United Nations that there was a need of about three hundred million dollars in order to help the disaster-stricken population. An upwards of eighty-one billion dollars (with donors coming from all parts of the world) were collected in a matter of days, with the amount continuing to rise (Silva, 2013). Now, one could wonder how exactly this much money was raised in such a short amount of time. How was the knowledge of the plight of the residents of Tacloban city spread and disseminated to quickly? One possible answer to this could be through the utilization of photography. In the online social media, broadsheets, and television accounts of the typhoon, many reports included photographs of the disaster-stricken city. According to Langton (2009), when planned, executed, and played well, photographs are capable of telling rich, emotional, and informational stories. Photographs, through their messages, symbols, icons, and imagery, are able to speak to audience and impart some of the greatest impact (Samara, 2010). This is exactly what happened in the photographic documentation of Typhoon Haiyan in TaclobanReview of Related LiteratureIn order to research the topic A Comparative Study of Foreign and Local Online Media Photography after Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, the researcher employed related literature in the form of books, interviews, and news and journal articles.The book entitled Complete Book of Press Photography, edited by Joseph Costa, is an anthology of articles written by members of the National Press Photography Association, Incorporated. Many of the articles found here speak about the power and influence of photography and most especially, press photography in society today. This book, though published in the year 1950, is still a reliable source because it is a product of one of the most distinguished photojournalism associations in the world, the NPPA. What Katrina Revealed: A Visual Analysis of the Hurricane Coverage by New Wires and U.S. Newspapers. by Shahira Fahmy, et al., is a journal article found in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. Though it is an article about Hurricane Katrina in the United States of America, it has a lengthy discussion regarding photojournalism in general, such as the process of picking photographs to be used in media and newsprint, as well as other news selection factors. These are important topics that can be utilized in the interpretation (determination of themes) of the photographs to be selected. Journal & Mass Communication Quarterly is well-known academic journal that primarily focuses on journalism and mass communication, thus making this journal article substantial related literature.Photojournalism and Todays News: Creating Visual Reality is a book written by Loup Langton. In this book, Langton explains newsroom culture and how this culture influences the photojournalism that is eventually released and published worldwide. Published in 2009, this book is a reliable and valuable source for research because it discusses how the process of how photographs are created and planned even before the click of the camera, and the reason behind why a photograph is published. Through the Lens: Visual Framing of the Japan Tsunami in U.S., British, and Chinese Online Media is a journal article written by Rosellen Downey, et al. and published by the International Symposium on Online Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. This will be a very useful work of literature because it focuses on how foreign online media, specifically the United States, Great Britain, and China, used photographs to frame the tragedy of the Japan Tsunami. It dissects several factors (geographic location, political relations, etc.) that affect the photography that foreign media publishes in relation to another countrys tragedy. This is very similar to the main research topic of this paper, and can therefore serve as a guide and fountain of background information in the analysis of foreign online media photography of Tacloban following Typhoon Haiyan. Setting guidelines on how to design the news online. Portuguese online newspapers and their spanish, argentinian and brazilian counterparts by Nuno A. Vargas is journal article published by the International Symposium on Online Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. This article has an abstract and introduction that talks about the background and history of online journalism. This can be used as an introduction or preliminary information in the research paper because this research article talks about online journalism. Photojournalist Captures Resiliency in the Philippines After Typhoon Haiyan is an online article found on the National Geographic website and written by Ker Than. This has proven to be a useful article because it can serve as a guide in the actual methodology of the paper. It states in the article that one of the main themes of a foreign journalists photographs of Tacloban after Typhoon Haiyan is resiliency. Thus, the researcher can be guided in identifying this theme and other themes in the scrutinizing of the gathered photographs. The National Geographic website is a reputable source because it is a known and worldwide celebrated magazine that was created in 1888.The Designers Graphic Stew: Visual Ingredients, Techniques, and Layout Recipes for Graphic Designers by Timothy Samara is a book that talks about the importance of photography and its significance in relaying messages, symbols, and themes to readers. This is relevant to the study because the study focuses on the messages, symbols, and themes of disaster photojournalism in Typhoon Haiyan.Digital Photojournalism by Susan C. Zavoina and John H. Davidson is a guidebook for photojournalism. It talks about the role of photojournalism in the world today, as well as the process a photograph undergoes before it is used in online media. This will be useful in the study because the study necessitates the background of photojournalism in order to further explain the reason behind the themes found in the photographs.The Art of Photojournalism is an interview of renowned photojournalist Paolo Pellegrin, conducted by Guy Lane. It was published in The Art Book, which is an academic art journal. In this interview Paolo Pellegrin talks about the aspect of human interest in disaster photojournalism. This is relevant to the study because preliminary research has shown that disaster journalism is largely composed of human interest photojournalism. Paolo Pellegrin sheds light on the reasons behind the prevalence of human interest in disaster photojournalism.

MethodologyPhotograph GatheringA total of thirty photographs are to be gathered for comparison. Fifteen of these are to be sourced from local online media sources, while the other fifteen are to be taken from foreign online media sources. The photographs to be gathered are those of Tacloban after it was struck by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

SchemeAfter all thirty photographs are gathered, they will be segregated into their respective groups: Group A, those from local online media sources and Group B, those from foreign online media sources. Once they are grouped, the researcher will observe and scrutinize each photograph. In doing so, the researcher will try to identify the photographs message, symbol, icon, and imagery, in order to determine its main theme. Observations will then be recorded.The researcher will then the observations recorded within each group. Similarities and differences are to be written down. Afterwards, the researcher shall compare and contrast the main themes the similarities and differences between the two groups in order to come up with the conclusion. The researcher shall also refer to the preliminary research that was done in order to infer how or why such differences and similarities occur between the two pictures (cultural, political, social factors, etc.)

Results and Discussion

The chart above is a frequency distribution of the themes present in foreign media Tacloban photography following Typhoon Haiyan. Destruction is the most common theme present (12 out of 15 pictures), while Relief Efforts is the least represented (1 out of 15 pictures). As illustrated by the chart, the two aforementioned themes register a marked difference (11) in frequency. Following destruction in terms of greatest frequency is human interest with 8 pictures. Succeeding human interest is hope, with 5 appearances and aerial-themed pictures, with 3 occurrences. Therefore, majority of the pictures display the theme of destruction, while a very small minority display relief efforts.

The chart above describes the frequency of themes utilized in the photography of local media covering Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban. The highest frequency occurs in human interest, while the lowest frequency is registered in aerial. As reflected by the chart, these two themes have the largest contrast (11) in terms of recurrence. Hope is the second-most recurrent theme, with 9 occurrences out of 15 pictures. Thereafter is Relief efforts with a frequency of 8, and destruction with a frequency of 7. In summary, the greatest marked distinction is between the themes human interest and aerial, with a difference of 11.

This chart summarizes the frequency of different photography themes as seen in foreign and local media following Typhoon Haiyan. Overall, there seems to be a great difference in frequency within each theme listed between foreign and local media. Each of the figures registers a marked disparity when comparing foreign and local media photography. The most noticeable imbalance is seen in the theme relief efforts. In this theme, local media has 7 more pictures than foreign media that show relief efforts that were undertaken in Tacloban. The theme of destruction has the second-most apparent difference; here, foreign media has 5 more pictures with this theme than local media. Following this is the theme of hope, with a difference of 4, in favor of local media. Lastly, the least noticeable difference is of just 2, with foreign media edging out local, occurring within the aerial theme. Therefore, there is a marked contrast in the frequency of themes presented local and foreign media photography after Typhoon Haiyan. The most curious finding in this chart is the marked difference between the amount of relief efforts-themed photography between local and foreign media. This could be explained by Downey, who states that relations between countries play an important role in the publication of media. The pictures utilized in this research were gathered from a distinguished British publication and from a well-respected Philippine news agency. Yet, there seems to be no outstanding conflict between the Philippines and Great Britain. The lack of pictures of relief efforts may be explained by the fact that Great Britain does not need to answer to the Philippine government, and therefore has no qualms about perhaps criticizing the governments response to the plight of Tacloban.The result of human interest as having a very high frequency in both local and foreign online media is greatly supported by various researchers, while there is a consistent lack of aerial-themed pictures. Both Fahmy and Jackson suggest that human interest is a popular theme because it has the ability to capture and keep the attention of readers. This relates to the research of Kennedy, who believes in the photographs power to elicit and stir emotion from people throughout and around the world, with their reaction and their response moving others and themselves to act. As Lester (in Fahmy, 2007) has explained, That is because in the end, people, ordinary people and how they cope in a crisis are always the most important storynot the storm. Destruction is the most popular theme in foreign media photography; there is also a considerable amount of destruction-themed pictures from local online media. Downey states that the reason behind this is because of medias aim to illuminate [the] obstinate [problem] in society. In this case, it would be the widespread devastation in Tacloban. By highlighting the destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan, both local and international press aim to inspire and move others to aid the Philippines. Hope as a mildly popular theme, is explained by Mister Guttenfelder (photographer for National Geographic) in an interview. According to Guttenfelder, photographers hope to focus on how the people survive despite their displacement, as well as their resiliency throughout the ordeal. This is also supported by Pellegrin, who described optimism, bravery, and human resilience in the midst of tragedy to be common themes in disaster photography.It is also medias responsibility to inject positivity following a disaster. This may be a reason for the high frequency of hope-themed pictures, especially in local media. Since local media reaches the population first, they are at the helm of spreading news to Filipinos. Instead of wishing to discourage and de-motivate the country, they want to mobilize and inspire the people to act. There is also a personal business of charity in the Philippine media, due to our culture. The media does not simply report the destruction, they aim to arouse the publics interest to help. This is in contrast with foreign media, whose target audience is a wider and more global population. With them, foreign media aims to just inform their consumers, not necessarily give them hope.

RecommendationsThe researcher recommends that if further studies are to be made, researchers should gather more photographs to analyze. Because of the relatively small sample size (15 from foreign online media, 15 from local online media), the results gathered may not be representative of the entire population. Another recommendation would be to include pictures from other sources, such as print media (newspapers and magazines). This would allow for the widening of the scope of the research, and therefore become more relevant to the audience.Lastly, the researcher recommends that a study could be conducted on the Asian media treatment of Yolanda versus the media treatment of Western journalists. Seeing as Southeast Asian countries can have similar cultures, it would be interesting to see if the results of this proposed study match those of this study. This research holds importance in society because it is reflective of the power of media. As seen above, media is the mirror of our world. However, what media chooses to present is also a product of its biases. The research performed here proves and highlights the importance of being critical thinkers and analyzers of media in this day and age.

ConclusionIn conclusion, there sees to be a general trend in terms of themes in the photography of Tacloban after Typhoon Haiyan in local and foreign online media. Human interest, destruction, and hope are the more popular themes, while aerial is the least popular. The conflict resides mainly in theme of relief efforts. There is a stark difference between the amount of relief effort-themed pictures in local and foreign online media, with the former having the higher frequency. This can be caused by many factors, but the main one, as conjectured by this research, is the political freedom of foreign countries. Due to the lack of a need to answer to the Philippine government, international press tends to feel freer to criticize (or commend) the said government. Lastly, the research also showed the high frequency of hope in both sources of media. As shown by this research, a likely reason for this would be the Philippine medias responsibility to inject hope into the population after a tragedy.Bibliography1. Costa, Joseph, ed. Complete Book of Press Photography. New York: National Photographers Association, 1950. Print.2. Downey, Rosellen, et al. "Through the Lens: Visual Framing of the Japan Tsunami in U.S., British, and Chinese Online Media." Thesis. University of Missouri, 2012. International Symposium on Online Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. University of Texas at Austin, 2012. Web. 01 Jan. 2014.3. Fahmy, Shahira. et al. "WHAT KATRINA REVEALED: A VISUAL ANALYSIS OF THE HURRICANE COVERAGE BY NEWS WIRES AND U.S. NEWSPAPERS." Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 84.3 (2007): 546-61. EBSCO Academic Search Complete. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.4. Horton, Brian. The Associated Press PHOTO-JOURNALISM STYLEBOOK. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1990. Print.5. Hoy, Frank P. PHOTOJOURNALISM: THE VISUAL APPROACH. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1986. Print.6. Lane, Guy, ed. "The Art of Photojournalism." TheArtBook 15.4 (2008): 63-64. EBSCO Academic Search Complete. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.7. Langton, Loup. Photojournalism and Today's News: Creating Visual Reality. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.8. "NDRRMC: Yolanda Death Toll up to 5,670, Damage at P34 Billion." GMA News Online. GMA Network Inc., 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.9. Rhode, Robert B., and Floyd H. McCall. PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY Reporting with a Camera. United States of America: Macmillan, 1967. 10. Samara, Timothy. The Designer's Graphic Stew: Visual Ingredients, Techniques, and Layout Recipes for Graphic Designers. Beverly, MA: Rockport, 2010. Print.11. Than, Ker. "Photojournalist Captures Resiliency in the Philippines After Typhoon Haiyan." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 23 Nov. 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.12. Vargas, Nuno A. "Setting Guidelines on How to Design the News Online. Portuguese Online Newspapers and Their Spanish, Argentinian and Brazilian Counterparts." Thesis. University of Barcelona, 2009. International Symposium on Online Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. University of Texas at Austin, 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.13. Zavoina, Susan C., and John H. Davidson. Digital Photojournalism. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2002. Print.

AppendixA. International Online Media