Close Enough #6
Democracy Dies Without Visual Journalism
Hi Friends,
As we absorb the news this week of the drastic layoffs at the Washington Post including all the staff photographers, it’s important to get a visual reference to what this loss means.
The birth of the Photojournalism Archive came about because of the work of Carol Guzy, the most decorated photojournalist of her generation, who earned three of her four Pulitzer Prizes while working at the Post, only to be laid off a dozen years ago. But she continues to commit her life to photographing in-depth stories documenting the human experience in all its struggles, beauty, heartache and hope.
You can view her full PHOTO story on those escaping Isis in Iraq in 2017.
The images of suffering, especially of children, can be so hard to look at, but as Carol has said so often, if they have to live it the least we can do is look at it.
Photojournalism is a powerful tool to help us to witness, to see, to connect, to empathize, and to care. Ironically, in a time when images are ubliquious and we struggle to tell what is real, the work of professional photojournalists, those with the skills to capture TRUTH, is being dismantled and discarded.
The goal of the Photojournalism Archive is to preserve and share their work.
While you’re visiting Carol’s story on the Scars of Mosul check out the work of the other photographers who have contributed stories to date.
On other fronts, we would appreciate your support of the archive and its development. Fundamentally, this is a community archive project and we welcome your stories, support and ideas.
We continue to look for funding that will allow us to produce more stories, more efficiently. In the meantime, we could use some help with the cost of licensing software and other essential products. If you feel so moved, please contribute through our support portal or email me, Randa Cardwell, at photojournalismarchive@gmail.com. Thank you for any support you can offer.
And please follow us on:
Instagram -- @photojournalismarchive
Blue Sky -- @photojarchive
Facebook -- Photojournalism Archive
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Glad to see more Photojournalism work being shared on substack!