Photographing the ‘Battlefield’: A Study of the Relationships Between Photojournalists, Police and Protesters during the Anti-austerity Demonstrations in Greece

This paper explores the interactions between photojournalists, police and protesters during protests and demonstrations, with a focus on how they shape and influence photographic practices. The theoretical framework of ideologically structured action (Zald) is employed in order to examine how the ideological, personal and professional values of photojournalists are represented in their footage of such incidents. We discuss how dominant dogmas of public order policing shape the attitudes and responses of all actors involved. Tilly’s spatial perspective on contentious politics is utilised, to examine the geography of policing, the creation of safe and controlled spaces as well as their impact on the routine activities and dynamics of these actors vis-a-vis the protest site. These issues are addressed through an empirical study of photojournalists who were tasked with capturing footage of the anti-austerity demonstrations seen in Greece since 2010. The paper presents the results of a critical thematic analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with Greek photojournalists between 2015 and 2016.The sample included freelancers, photographers in contracted positions, and stringers working for international news agencies such as Associated Press (AP), Agence France-Presse (AFP), Reuters, Bloomberg, Athens News Agency (ANS), Panos Pictures, Greek photo agencies and the Greek media. Our findings indicate that, besides the claims to objectivity and reporting reality, anti-austerity protest photography is an inherently political process which is shaped by ideological and personal values of photojournalists. The consensus amongst our interviewees was that the dynamics between police, protesters and photojournalists had been radically transformed as a result of certain developments such as (a) the legacy of December 2008 uprisings, (b) protesters have begun to view photojournalists as ideologically distinct from professional journalists who are increasingly viewed as untrustworthy, and (c) former members of the anarchist blocs becoming photojournalists, have radically transformed the dynamics and interactions between photojournalists, police and protesters. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these developments upon the physical co-presence of protesters and photojournalists at mass demonstrations in Greece. We argue that this new ‘spatial flexibility’ afforded by this redefined relationship between protester and photojournalist allows the latter to produce new representations of these events that were not previously available.