How objective can news pictures be? Do photojournalists fulfil a social purpose? How are their pictures used? These are just a few of the critical questions that surround photojournalistic practice and are continually debated by scholars, critics and photographers. Exploring these issues and the interface between theory and practice, this text surveys photojournalism's historical and contemporary development, the challenges and opportunities that the digital age has presented and the issues faced by those who create, select and circulate images. Illustrated with a range of photographs and case material and with a wealth of international case studies and interviews, the ethics, aesthetics and politics of the practice are put into distinct context--back cover.