The Relationship between Text and Image in the Romanian Media Covering the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict: Portrayal of Children
Rezumat
Abstract: In recent years, digital media has assumed an increasingly prominent role, while the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has received extensive coverage in the Romanian press. In this context, the present study employs multimodal critical discourse analysis to investigate the relationship between text and image in news reports that explore the condition of children affected by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The study focuses on two Romanian online media outlets: Digi24.ro and Libertatea.ro. The relationship between textual and visual elements is analysed using the framework proposed by Marsh and White (2003). Furthermore, the study identifies the types of images that accompany the news text, namely narrative and conceptual representations (Kress & van Leeuwen 2006), and explores the ways in which visual elements contribute to the construction of meaning. Moreover, the study considers the difference between demand and offer images, and focuses on the type of relationship established between the subjects portrayed and the viewer. These categories are comparatively applied to the two media sources in order to identify similarities and differences in their visual and discursive representations. The findings suggest that the images selected by the journalists function not merely as illustrative elements but as meaningful components that enhance the communicative impact of the message. By framing events through specific ideological and social perspectives, these visual representations influence audience interpretation and contribute to shaping public understanding of the conflict and of its impact on children.
Keywords: multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA), visual representation, Russian-Ukrainian conflict, children in war, Romanian media discourse.
Bibliografie
Acknowledgement: This work was funded by the EU’s NextGenerationEU instrument through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of Romania – Pillar III-C9-I8, managed by the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, within the project entitled The coverage and reception of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in Polish, Romanian and English-language media: A comparative critical discourse study with recommendations for journalism training (CORECON), contract no. 760244/28.12.2023, code CF 25/27.07.2023.
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