Readers' perception of digital alteration and truth-value in documentary photographs.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The credibility of documentary photographs in representing reality is greatly weakened today because digital imaging technology has provided convenient tools for image producers to alter images as they wish. Such altered photographs no longer let us be sure of the things' <italic>having-been-there</italic>, to use Roland Barthes' term. As a postmodern phenomenon, digital imaging is playing an increasingly important role in shaping readers' understanding of what is real.
So far, no academic studies have been conducted on readers of digital images. My study brought actual readers to the forefront of the research on the digital revolution in mass media. By exploring readers' response to various digital imaging alterations and their epistemological understanding of truth, I examined to what extent readers accept the postmodern concepts of reality and truth embedded in this new technology. By filling in the research gap, I hope that this reader-response research will provide an empirical basis for newsroom guidelines and principles on the use of digitally altered images.
The study was executed on three dimensions. I tried to find out how readers understand (1) different types of alteration (technical, content, composite) in (2) different types of photographs (hard news, feature, illustration); (3) in different media (newspapers, news magazines, “infotainment” magazines and tabloids).
My two general research questions were: (1) To what extent do readers of print news media accept digitally altered documentary photographs? (2) How is readers' trust in digitally altered documentary photographs related to their understanding of truth and reality? I conducted a mail survey to seek answers to the first research question and the hypotheses based on this research question and nine in-depth interviews to find out answers to the second research question. I drew a probability sample of 700 residents of Bloomington, Indiana. The response rate for the survey was 33 percent.
The study found a tension between readers' concerns about digital imaging alterations and their high acceptance rates for many types of alterations. I concluded that digital imaging alterations could get high acceptance rate among readers but risk alienating and losing readers eventually. Responsible uses of digital imaging technology in newsrooms, to a great extent, will determine the future survival of the profession of photojournalism, which has been trusted by the public.