| Abstract: |
This study examined how sacred imagery communicates divine presence and how visual journalism frames such images within contemporary digital media cultures. Guided by Peircean Semiotics and Visual Communication Theory, the work set out to: analyze the deployment of sacred imagery across religious traditions; examine journalistic framing practices; identify interpretive challenges that shape audience reception; and propose ethical, culturally sensitive, and professionally grounded guidelines for journalists. Employing a cross-sectional, quantitative, descriptive design, data were gathered through a structured questionnaire developed from contemporary scholarship and measured using a four-point Likert scale. The population consisted of 100 Mass Communication and Religious Studies undergraduates drawn from the Catholic Institute of West Africa, Hensard University, the University of Delta Agbor, and Benue State University. Expert validation ensured content and construct accuracy, while reliability testing yielded a Cronbach alpha of 0.87. Data were analyzed descriptively using frequencies, percentages, and mean scores (2.50 benchmark). The study yielded four key f indings: (1) sacred imagery is widely perceived as mediatory and symbolically profound, (2) visual journalism often misrepresents sacred images, distorting theological meaning, (3) audience reception is complicated by interpretive challenges intensified in digital platforms, and (4) there is strong support for ethical, contextual, and professionally grounded guidelines for journalistic depiction of sacred imagery. The study concluded that responsible engagement with sacred imagery is an ethical and professional obligation. Recommendations included: (a) institutionalize symbolic-literacy training; (b) enforce contextual captions and micro-explainers; (c) adopt platform-aware publishing protocols; and (d) implement newsroom-level sacred-imagery ethical policies guided by an advisory roster. |
