Semiotic Reading of the Year 2020-2021 Based on the Press Photos of the Year

Abstract

Photography, which is an important media tool, conveys daily life, social events, and historical reality to the masses. Since photography shows what is from the photographer's point of view, it is also perceived as a reflection of reality. Press photographers convey the facts to the masses by using visual language. However, it is understood that there are changes in the way of transmission of news with digitalization. Today, the news that conventional media carry is made through digital channels. Photography, as supporter for the news, has begun to contribute to the concretization of the facts by expanding its scope, speed, and spread. The effect of each concrete concept is more striking than the abstract. In particular, all emotions that are painful and that people avoid being exposed to, such as war, destruction, and death, are embodied in press photographs. This study aims to reveal the messages they convey to the masses by reading the photograph, which is the supporter of the news. Within the scope of this goal, the photos that won awards in the 2021 Press Photographs of the Year competition were selected. The photographs selected by the random sampling method were handled and analyzed with the semiotic analysis method.