Images of Resilience: The Case for Visual Restorative Narrative

Abstract

A recently labeled genre of journalistic storytelling, termed “restorative narratives,” intends to cover the story beyond the immediacy of the breaking news, and in doing so, to help individuals and communities move forward in the wake of large-impact events. Specifically, this research emphasizes visual reporting, which functions both effectively and in concert with the tenets of restorative narrative. Through photographic analysis and in-depth interviews with visual journalists, the study concludes that visual restorative narrative can potentially provide a venue for the professional photojournalist that is beyond the scope of what can be accomplished with citizen-provided content. And, in doing so, restorative narrative can indeed be a future—and thus a sustaining value—for visual journalism.