The Visual Image and the Political Image: A Review of Visual Communication Research in the Field of Political Communication

Abstract

Visual symbols have long been a central component of political communication, and their importance has increased as the visual medium of television has become the dominant source of political information. Politicians understand the significance of visuals and work equally hard to construct effective image bites as they do powerful sound bites. In short, visual images play a central role in constructing political images. Despite their central position in political communication, scholars have historically overlooked visual symbols in their research. Based on a review of the growing and substantial literature, this study argues that it is time for political communication scholars to delve deeper into how visual symbols function in public affairs. To that end, this paper seeks to provide a theoretical and literature base to facilitate this change in focus and to suggest future avenues of research in this area.