Over Exposed:Using Violent Images to Compare the Decision-Making Processes of Journalists and Public (2010)

Undergraduate: Anna Wooten

Faculty Advisor: Jane Brown
Department: Journalism & Mass Communication

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Moving from the role of news consumer to news producer often means that new journalists must adjust how they make decisions about the publication of news media. This study sought to examine the relationship between the decision-making processes of non-journalism students, new journalism students and experienced journalism students. Participants were given a survey of 20 violent images and asked to decide if and where they would publish each picture. Results showed that most images produced no significant difference in the publication decisions of each group. Images displaying a high level of violence, however, produced differences where students with journalism experience were less likely to publish each image than non-journalism students. These results support Kohlberg’s moral development theory, but do not support the common perception that journalists sometimes publish images that are more violent than the public deems appropriate.