Description
A behind-the-scenes look at the struggles between visual journalists and officials over what the public sees--and therefore much of what the public knows--of the criminal justice system. In the contexts of crime, social justice, and the law, nothing in visual media is as it seems. In today's mediated social world, visual communication has shifted to a democratic sphere that has significantly changed the way we understand and use images as evidence. In Seeing Justice, Mary Angela Bock examines the way criminal justice in the US is presented in visual media by focusing on the grounded practices of visual journalists in relationship with law enforcement. Drawing upon extended interviews, participant observation, contemporary court cases, and critical discourse analysis, Bock provides a detailed examination of the way digitization is altering the relationships between media, consumers, and the criminal justice system. From tabloid coverage of the last public hanging in the US to Karen-shaming videos, from mug shots to perp walks, she focuses on the practical struggles between journalists, police, and court officials to control the way images influence their resulting narratives. Revealing the way powerful interests shape what the public sees, Seeing Justice offers a model for understanding how images are used in news narrative.
About the Author
Mary Angela Bock is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Media at The University of Texas at Austin. She studies the construction of media representations and the way they can perpetuate or dismantle systems of oppression. She has written numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and has authored or edited three books. Bock's previous career spanned more than 20 years in television news, with stints as a newspaper reporter, a radio journalist, and public relations writer. She received her PhD from the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009.
Reviews
Impressive in scope. Thoughtful in approach. Critical in significance. Bock gives us a treasure that expertly illuminates how visual media have historically been used to depict (in)justice and, importantly, provides a roadmap to guide their ethical use into the future. * T.J. Thomson, Queensland University of Technology and author of To See and Be Seen: The Environments, Interactions, and Identities Behind News Images *
Through her insight and wisdom gathered through years of work as a professional and a scholar, Mary Angela Bock has produced a much needed book about the role of all stakeholders-'law enforcement, citizens, and journalists'-in shaping visual narratives about the criminal justice system and the people who are voluntarily or involuntarily part of it. This timely book covers a full range of issues, from 'embodied gatekeeping' through misrepresentation and re-contextualization in media. Far too often, the result of these imaging and viewing practices is seeing unjustly. * Julianne H. Newton, Professor of Visual Communication, University of Oregon *
Bock provides a sophisticated account of how the press, the state, and its citizens use and produce visual narratives of justice. Moving between theory and practice with eloquence and ease, she makes a compelling case for why mediated citizenship depends on the recognition of visibility and voice. * Sandra Ristovska, University of Colorado Boulder and author of Seeing Human Rights: Video Activism as a Proxy Profession *
A remarkable achievement! Informative, insightful and engaging. Seeing Justice is a compelling book that will engage and delight the reader. It exposes the way images about justice are created, contextualized and distributed, and how different social actors struggle for control of those processes. Bock's wry wit is a welcome bonus, too often missing in books of this character." * Shahira S. Fahmy, Professor, School of Journalism, University of Arizona, USA and Visiting Professor, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, The American University in Cairo, Egypt *
Book Information
ISBN 9780190926984
Author Mary Angela Bock
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 448g
Dimensions(mm) 155mm * 236mm * 23mm
About the Author
Mary Angela Bock is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Media at The University of Texas at Austin. She studies the construction of media representations and the way they can perpetuate or dismantle systems of oppression. She has written numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and has authored or edited three books. Bock's previous career spanned more than 20 years in television news, with stints as a newspaper reporter, a radio journalist, and public relations writer. She received her PhD from the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009.
Reviews
Impressive in scope. Thoughtful in approach. Critical in significance. Bock gives us a treasure that expertly illuminates how visual media have historically been used to depict (in)justice and, importantly, provides a roadmap to guide their ethical use into the future. * T.J. Thomson, Queensland University of Technology and author of To See and Be Seen: The Environments, Interactions, and Identities Behind News Images *
Through her insight and wisdom gathered through years of work as a professional and a scholar, Mary Angela Bock has produced a much needed book about the role of all stakeholders-'law enforcement, citizens, and journalists'-in shaping visual narratives about the criminal justice system and the people who are voluntarily or involuntarily part of it. This timely book covers a full range of issues, from 'embodied gatekeeping' through misrepresentation and re-contextualization in media. Far too often, the result of these imaging and viewing practices is seeing unjustly. * Julianne H. Newton, Professor of Visual Communication, University of Oregon *
Bock provides a sophisticated account of how the press, the state, and its citizens use and produce visual narratives of justice. Moving between theory and practice with eloquence and ease, she makes a compelling case for why mediated citizenship depends on the recognition of visibility and voice. * Sandra Ristovska, University of Colorado Boulder and author of Seeing Human Rights: Video Activism as a Proxy Profession *
A remarkable achievement! Informative, insightful and engaging. Seeing Justice is a compelling book that will engage and delight the reader. It exposes the way images about justice are created, contextualized and distributed, and how different social actors struggle for control of those processes. Bock's wry wit is a welcome bonus, too often missing in books of this character." * Shahira S. Fahmy, Professor, School of Journalism, University of Arizona, USA and Visiting Professor, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, The American University in Cairo, Egypt *
Book Information
ISBN 9780190926984
Author Mary Angela Bock
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 448g
Dimensions(mm) 155mm * 236mm * 23mm
