'Nothing learned!' The media-ethical discourse on the visual coverage of the 2020terror attack in Vienna

On November 2, 2020, Vienna, Austria, was hit by a terrorist attack. Countless photos and videos created by eyewitnesses were shared on social media and picked up by journalistic media. Especially the use of the images by two major Austrian media caused public outcry and an intensive media-ethical debate. This paper focuses on the metajournalistic discourse on visual communication norms spurred by the visual media coverage of the attack, what was criticized and by whom, and the consequences of the discourse. A variety of actors spoke out, accusing the two media outlets of showing attack images that violate journalistic codes. While there was a broad consensus that showing the images was inappropriate in the journalistic context, the level of reflection was generally low. The discussion was limited to image motives, but their aesthetics and modes of representation were not discussed. Thus, how something is depicted and what implications these depictions have was not adequately addressed.