ABSTRACT

Thanks to new visual-based communication technologies and new forms of interplay between professional journalists and amateurs in the construction of news, conflict footage can be witnessed, even in real time. Images captured by non-professionals have become an important part of crisis reporting, and eyewitness reporting by “citizen journalists” has provided news organizations with emotionally compelling visual material from areas inaccessible to journalists. Theoretically, such images present different views and voices to those of traditional foreign news reporting. This enhanced visualization constitutes a new front for the exercising of power, the mobilizing of support for a cause, and the influencing of international political decisions. The role of amateur journalists in the Syrian crisis has been significant, as image brokers strategically produce, package, and circulate eyewitness evidence to maintain the worldwide visibility of their cause.