Analogue photography as an analytical and aesthetic tool for ethnographic observation in cultural journalism field

Abstract

The annotated portfolio presented here will focus on analogue photography as a complementary methodological tool in a sociological study of the cultural press in print, audiovisual and online formats. This study is part of PhD research on the production and circulation of literary information in French-speaking Europe, providing an overview of this specific sector of journalism and, in particular, its international stakes. In this particular field, the relationship between social science researchers and cultural journalists is characterized by a high degree of similarity in their approach and intellectual tools, systematically leading the journalists surveyed to adopt a reflexive stance during interviews. Although extremely valuable for analysis, it can confine the data to idealism, with the study of representations taking precedence over the analysis of practices. Certain material conditions of the survey can then bring journalists closer to their practices, where photography plays a particular role.