Bad news day after day. How populist is photojournalism?

More than 200 visitors took part in the panel discussion at the World Press Photo 16 exhibition. The discussion was moderated by Irene Brickner (der Standard). The panel also included
Petra Bernhardt (Lecturer at the Institute for Political Science / Visual Studies in the Social Sciences, University of Vienna); Christian Fischer (Photographer, winner of "Objektiv 2015 - Pressefotos des Jahres″); Katharina Schell (Head of the Domestic Policy Department of the APA); Ruth Wodak (Em. Professor, Lancaster University/University of Vienna).

Journalistically used photos reduce the complexity of the events they report on: They break them down to a single representative moment. They appeal to the viewer on an emotional rather than a rational level. The pointed is given preference over differentiation, effect over reflection. Like populism, which knows how to stir up fears, the recurring theme spectrum of photojournalism at the World Press Photo Award - war, devastation and suffering - seems likely to evoke a feeling of permanent acute threat. So is photojournalism, as it were, involuntarily doing the populists' business? Is simplification already populism? What criteria are used to select photos and what does differentiated photojournalism look like? And how do populist campaigns make use of images? This year's panel discussion will explore these questions with images against the backdrop of the political populism of a nationalist nature that is gaining strength not only in Europe.