Images in Juan José Millás’ Photocolumns. A Study of People, Shots, and Textual Anchoring

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/arab.105503
Keywords: Juan José Millás, photocolumn, opinion genres, camera shots, articuento, journalistic photography

Abstract

This research examines the photocolumn as a vanguardist opinion journalism genre
characterized by its inherent hybridity between image and text. The study focuses on the specific
case of the “La Imagen” section in the supplement El País Semanal, authored by Juan José
Millás, a renowned writer and journalist known for creating the articuento (a hybrid of a literary
short story and a journalistic article). The methodology employed is a quantitative and qualitative
content analysis, utilizing an originally designed analytical matrix to investigate the selection and
treatment of the images. The findings demonstrate Millás’ strong commitment to the human
element, consistently prioritizing people over locations and inanimate objects. Analysis of the
photographic shots highlights a clear interest in visualizing the informative “who”, their action,
and immediate context. Finally, the study confirms the crucial role of textual anchoring: the
accompanying text does not merely complement the image but actively interprets it, imbuing it
with new meaning. This discursive mechanism solidifies the photocolumn as an essential tool for
providing the reader with other eyes to see reality.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

María Luisa Cárdenas Rica, Centro Universitario San Isidoro (adscrito Universidad Pablo de Olavide)

PhD María Luisa Cárdenas Rica is Academic Director of the Bachelor's Degree in Communication at the San Isidoro University Centre (Pablo de Olavide University) and has been Academic Coordinator of Communication at the Centre for Business Studies (University of Wales). She has been teaching since 1998 and is accredited by ANECA as a University Lecturer. Deputy Director of Ámbitos, International Journal of Communication. Member of the Research Group on Structure, History and Content of Communication. Author of numerous publications in journals, books and papers at national and international conferences. Her lines of research focus on new journalistic content, political communication, institutional communication offices, disinformation: origin, verification, xenophobia and hate speech.

Pablo Martín Ramallal, Universidad de sevilla

PhD Pablo Nicolás Martín Ramallal, accredited by ANECA, has experience in Social Sciences, Communication, and Marketing since the 2010/2011 academic year. He has published more than 30 articles in high-impact journals, of which more than 20 are indexed as Scopus and JCR. He has written 35 book chapters for prestigious publishers and has participated in international conferences, presenting 42 papers and lectures. He has 12 teaching innovation projects. He is a reviewer for Scopus and JCR journals. His lines of research are Advertising, Marketing, ICT, and Education. He is the recipient of the Extraordinary Doctorate Award for his thesis Virtual Reality and Transmedia Advertising: A Multidisciplinary Study of Immersive Advergaming. He is a member of the SEJ480 Research Group: Marketing, Innovation, Tourism, and Sustainability.

View citations

Article download

Crossmark

Metrics

Published
2026-06-09
How to Cite
Cárdenas Rica M. L. y Martín Ramallal P. (2026). Images in Juan José Millás’ Photocolumns. A Study of People, Shots, and Textual Anchoring. Área Abierta. Revista de comunicación audiovisual y publicitaria, 26(2), 145-160. https://doi.org/10.5209/arab.105503
Issue
Vol. 26 No. 2 (2026)
Section
Articles

License

In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Área Abierta. Revista de comunicación audiovisul y publicitaria is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.

Área Abierta. Revista de Comunicación Audiovisual y Publicitaria is an open access journal that does not charge authors for article processing (submission, review or editing) or publication.