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Researchers in the fields political and visual communication recognized the important relationship between visual imagery, public opinion, and voting intention.(1) Facial characteristics, picture composition, and a variety of other visual and verbal factors have been shown to affect people's attitudes toward political candidates. By analyzing photographs of American presidents in news magazines from 1945 to 1974, this research goes beyond the political campaign paradigm of political communication research and extends what is known about the nature of visual portrayals of the president. It is important to understand the way the president is represented in today's visually oriented society. The period of photojournalistic development between 1945 and 1974 is significant because of the effect it had on that representation. Evidence suggests that print media became more concerned with photographs during this period.(2) The work of Walker Evans, Henn' Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, Arthur Rothstein, and other ground-breaking photographers is influential in this regard. Besides the stylistic influence of these photographers, developments in photographic technology affected photojournalistic style. The development of the single-lens reflex camera in the 1950s and the increased use of zoom lenses, advancements in telephoto lenses, smaller cameras, and faster film during the 1970s changed the way Americans images of their presidents in the news. These and the various political events and changing societal attitudes toward political leaders are inferred to have stimulated stylistic changes in news portrayals of the president during the span of time covered by this study. The assumption is that the thirty-year period chosen for analysis reflects significant changes in mediated presidential portrayals due to these factors. The logic of this argument proceeds along a line of historical and technological development and suggests that important changes were taking place in the way the public saw the world and the president through the visual media generally and news magazines specifically. Dealing exclusively with still photographs in magazines, this study analyzes the spatial configuration of the president as he appears within the picture frame. Spatial configuration includes the horizontal, vertical, and proximal dimensions of the president's image. These aspects generally go unnoticed and yet affect the process of political socialization. The underlying assumption of this study is that these subtle aspects of visual manipulation have powerful long-term effects on the political socialization process. The President's Picture and Socialization Doris Graber claims that mediated convey important information that is attended to, processed, and remembered long after words are forgotten. She found that news play an integral role in the formation of opinions about politicians, are used to gauge credibility, attract and hold attention, and stir emotions.(3) In his study of newspaper photographs, Stuart Hall states that the text is still the predominant element, but when photographs appear, they add new dimensions of meaning to the text.(4) Roland Barthes, however, insists that pictures ... are more imperative than writing, they impose meaning at one stroke, without analyzing or diluting it.(5) Thus, can be powerful socializing instruments because of the way they provide meaning to the world of events and people. Evidence suggests that photographs influence the public's perception of a president or presidential candidate. Gary Hart's presidential bid in 1988 was greatly affected by photographs depicting him in rather compromising situations with a young woman. Michael Dukakis's campaign was damaged by the of his infamous tank ride. George Bush's callous and cavalier attitude was portrayed through the visual image of him glancing at his watch during a 1992 debate with Clinton and Perot. …
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