Archive for Journalism
Reporting from Ground Zero
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So here’s the 9/11 truth, at least when it comes to how I got to make pictures at Ground Zero on September 11th. It took me 12 hours to get from Philadelphia to midtown Manhattan, by train, sometimes hiking and even hitchhiking.
I was exhausted in every sense, it seemed like every path was blocked, and I found myself turning back, surrendering to the thought of a hotel room in Times Square with a shower and a king size bed.
I thought I might try to get in again on the 12th, but we now know that a complete federal lockdown was in progress, with National Guard troops on the perimeter and only FEMA photographers permitted inside – for the next year.
But no sooner had I turned back when I ran into Chris Brennan. His face said “How could you?” – and he shamed me into taking “one more shot.”
About two hours later, by the end of the longest day of my life, Chris and I would be among the very, very small number of journalists who saw Ground Zero after the smoke cleared enough to breathe but before the barbed wire went up the next day.
His remarkable performance deserved more attention then and there but much of his reporting was lost in the chaos of the newsroom that day.
Finally, we have a chance to hear his story - beginning at my expense, however truthfully.
9/11 gallery talk
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I feel honored to have been invited to spend September 11th lecturing on one of my photos from 2001 in this incredible exhibit at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY. Thanks to Cathy DeDe, Managing Editor of The Chronicle in Glens Falls for this article posted Thursday (1,2).
War and Peace and Journalism
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I am thrilled to report that I am taking on a new full-time position beginning today at Swarthmore College, as the Journalist in Residence at the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility.
I will continue to advise the students who report and produce War News Radio, our free weekly public radio program, as I have for the past year. War News Radio strives to fill the gaps in media coverage of current US wars by providing balanced and in-depth reporting, historical perspective, and personal stories from the conflict zones.
Next, I will teach a new course on Peace Journalism in the Peace and Conflict Studies program. I have been studying this topic for much of the last year, and I am still putting finishing touches on the syllabus for the class that will arrive next next week. I plan to write more about this pursuit as the semester progresses, and I might even try to develop a new site and online community around my interest in this field.
Finally, I will be advising students and student groups on independent journalism practices, strategies and techniques, hopefully empowering them to further advance their many critical interests.
Overall, this feels like the opportunity of a lifetime, enabling me to incorporate my field reporting, indie journalism and teaching experiences in one place every day, while striving to inform the public, advance a new field and enhance the student experience.
Wish me luck!
