How iconic news images travel: republishing and reframing historic photographs in Israeli newspapers.

The article examines the concept of iconic photographs—images widely recognized and republished over time—and analyzes the republication and reframing of 15 Israeli news photographs identified as most recognized by the Israeli public over nearly seven decades. It distinguishes between "discrete icons," unique singular photographs tied closely to a specific moment, and "aggregate icons," which are composite images formed by multiple variants of the same event, showing that these categories differ in how their meanings shift or remain stable through media use. The study introduces four "iconic modalities"—representative iconicity, iconic drift, iconic formation, and non-iconization—to describe how media outlets assert, transform, or deny iconic status through republication and reframing. Findings reveal that iconic photographs both resist fading over time and undergo shifts in symbolic and ideological meanings, influenced by media practices, political contexts, and public recognition, with variations observed across different Israeli newspapers.