This article develops a model of visual framing analysis through an examination of the photographic representation of the 2006 Israel—Lebanon conflict. The intentions of this investigation are twofold: first, to compare and contrast the use of press photographs in two ‘quality’ British newspapers — The Times and The Guardian; second, to develop and test a model of visual framing analysis which takes seriously both the visual elements and verbal context of the photographs. The study employs a detailed content and framing analysis of all press photographs relevant to the conflict, with the following questions in mind: What is the character of photographic representation of both sides in the conflict and how does it fit with various moral evaluations and political interpretations of the war? Which groups are shown in an empathetic light? Is there any coherence to the framing of the war, or are many alternative explanations presented?

Debate over media coverage of foreign affairs has been dominated by a range of theoretical positions, here characterized as the 'elite-driven,' 'independent' and 'oppositional' models. In this article, we explore the relative cogency of these theoretical positions in the context of British media coverage of the 2003 Iraq War. We find that coverage generally conformed to the elite-driven model, reinforcing the coalition. Nevertheless, our analysis also provides evidence to support the independent and oppositional models. Regarding casualties and the humanitarian situation, we find significant levels of coverage which support the oppositional model and the notion of event-driven news. Overall, our study points toward a more nuanced understanding of media-state relations than is suggested by the existing elite-driven paradigm.

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In this article, the authors draw upon the results from a substantial content and framing analysis of the British media's treatment of the 2003 Iraq War to show how Britain's national press managed their coverage of the initial combat phase of the war against the background of substantial public and elite opposition. They show that reporting was dominated by coverage of the ongoing battle, that newspapers offered a similar subject agenda to one another and that coalition actors were prominent and likely to be reported neutrally. But the article uncovers a substantial diversity of opinion and tone across the British press and identifi es fi ve different editorial approaches to the confl ict which are sustained across the news and editorial pages of different newspapers. Through a closer examination, the authors attempt to account for the existence of these approaches in relation to the effects of public opposition to the war, patriotism and newspapers' longstanding political allegiances. Finally, they suggest that, in the British press at least, this plurality of opinions and forms of coverage offers a challenge to longstanding assumptions about the extent to which the media have tended to offer support to offi cial positions in relation to war.

Although the 2003 Iraq invasion was not wholly framed as a ‘humanitarian intervention’, the rhetoric of bringing liberation, democratization and human rights to the Iraqi people was widely advanced by the coalition and supporters as a legitimating reason for war. This article assesses the role played by press photography in legitimizing or challenging this crucial framing during the invasion across a range of UK national newspapers. Privileging visual content in research design, the study presents selected results from a comprehensive content and framing analysis of press photography during the invasion period (March–April 2003), specifically examining the prominence and treatment of photographs in the humanitarian-related visual coverage, along with the accompanying words used to define, support or detract from the events depicted. While finding that the rationale of humanitarianism generally played well for the coalition during this study period, this article explores the problematic nature of the narrative of liberation.