Ohio University’s NPPA student chapter leaders have a bright future 

On this episode of the Buckeye Visualist, host Lori King traveled to Ohio University in Athens, Ohio to talk with leaders of the NPPA/OU student group. 

Our topic was photojournalism, of course, and why my four student podcast guests chose the School of Visual Communication at Ohio University for learning the craft of photojournalism.

Listen as Zoe Cranfill, the president of NPPA/OU, vice president Charlie Nick, treasurer Megan VanVlack, and freshman Ben Pennington chat about life as a photojournalism student in the rural Appalachian region of Southern Ohio.

They also talked about how they handle competition amongst themselves; what makes OU churn out POY winners year after year; and the awards they’ve won as scholastic photojournalists:

  • Cranfill – the ONPA Fullerton Scholarship, two years in a row
  • VanVlack – First place for photojournalism news feature photo at the Fall National Media Convention last year
  • Pennington – Finalist in the Interpretive Eye category in the 78th NPPA College Photographer of the Year competition

For all episodes, go to the Buckeye Visualist podcast Spotify page.

Social media:

⁠NPPAOU website⁠

Instagram: ⁠Zoe Cranfill⁠ | ⁠Charlie Nick⁠ |⁠ Megan VanVlack⁠ | ⁠Ben Pennington⁠

Lori King: ⁠⁠⁠Website ⁠⁠⁠

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Zoe Cranfill, Charlie Nick & Ben Pennington | Episode 18

Ohio University junior Zoe Cranfill has won the Larry Fullerton Photojournalism scholarship the past two years. Cranfill will begin an internship at the Los Angeles Time begining in May.

A Rayado Crew smiles as they hatch a plan at Metcalf Station at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. in June 2023. (Zoe Cranfill / Ohio University)

Charlie Nick

Ben Pennington

The monthly clip contest: entering makes it better

September – Spot News – 1st place – Second-grader Canaan McCrum picks up a “Do Not Enter” sign that was knocked over by a pick up truck that crashed into his class room at Shoreland Elementary School in Toledo. (Jeremy Wadsworth / The Blade)

On this short and sweet episode of the Buckeye Visualist, host Lori King talks with ONPA monthly clip contest co-chairs Jeremy Wadsworth and Becca Benson, who are also coworkers at the Toledo Blade newspaper in Toledo, Ohio. 

Our main topic is the 44-year-old clip contest. Jeremy and Becca fill us in on who can enter, deadlines for submissions, and why you should enter. They are also seeing more photographers to enter and judges, so this is a call for action! 

Listen as we chat about how looking at contest entries inspires them; what kind of camera equipment the Blade staff is issued; the mileage Jeremy puts on his cars driving back and forth to work; and why Becca now has a fire lit under her ‘ass.’ Hint: there has never been a woman monthly clip contest winner … 

We also give a shoutout to Bob DeMay, ONPA’s webmaster who posts the monthly clip winners, as well as this podcast. Thank you, Bob!

Social media: Instagram: Jeremy | Becca

Lori King: ⁠Website ⁠

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

February – Story – 1st place – A tear falls down a girls face during a candle light vigil for students that were killed in a shooting, at the Diag at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)

July – Sports Feature – 1st place – Parma Panthers’ Mpoko Titi (left) and Rocco Bonvicini carries offensive coordinator Sandrino Baci on their shoulders after defeating Florence Guelfi in the Italian Bowl XLII at the University of Toledo’s Glass Bowl. (Rebecca Benson / The Blade)

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Jeremy Wadsworth & Rebecca Benson | Episode 17

Signal Akron – the new newsroom on the block

Signal Akron editor-in-chief Susan Zake (right) meets with staff members at The Well CDC in Middlebury, a neighborhood on Akron’s east side. (Kevin Dilley)

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Susan Zake & Kassi Filkins | Episode 16

On this episode of the Buckeye Visualist, host Lori King talks about the power of visuals with Signal Akron’s Susan Zake, editor-in-chief, and multimedia reporter and producer Kassi Filkins

Our topic is Signal Akron, a new nonprofit newsroom startup in Akron, Ohio. Susan, a former Akron Beacon multimedia journalist and editor, is leading that small but mighty newsroom, which launched in December 2023. 

Kassi worked at the Southeast Missourian and the Hartford Courant before getting her degree at Kent State University and joining the staff of Signal Akron. 

Listen as we chat about the false stigma that photojournalists can’t lead newsrooms; how visuals attract readers … and keep them more engaged; why photojournalists are a valuable asset to all newsrooms; the state of photojournalism education; the loss of independent journalism when newsrooms rely on handouts rather than their own visual reporting.

We also give a shoutout to the remaining three photographers at the Akron Beacon Journal. 

Social media:
Signal Akron | ⁠The Signal Akron Team⁠

⁠Kassi’s Portfolio⁠ | ⁠ONPA’s article on Sue Zake⁠

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

Kassi Filkins, multimedia journalist with Signal Akron. (Nate Manley)

A person portraying the Grinch winds up to throw a snowball during the Akron Zoo Wild Lights in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)

From the playing field to politics in Arizona with Arianna Grainey

On this episode of the Buckeye Visualist, we talk to Arizona freelance photographer Arianna Grainey, an Ohio native who now covers sports and politics in Arizona. 

Host Lori King leads a discussion about Arianna’s start in college and high school sports, and how she got into shooting political content for the City of Tempe. 

Listen as the Arizona State journalism/political science graduate discusses building a freelance career with personal contacts, networking and agreeing to shoot just about anything; why she switched from Canon to Sony; why she prefers shooting in the sun; her famous soccer-writer father, Tim Grainey; and her friendship with USA Today sports columnist and Toledo Christine Brennan.

Social media contacts:
Twitter ⁠⁠@⁠⁠Arianna Grainey
Instagram ⁠⁠@ariannagrainey
Website @ariannagrainey.smugmug.com

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

Lori King: Twitter ⁠⁠@intro2pj⁠⁠ | Instagram ⁠⁠@toledophotog⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Website 

Arizona State wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk leaps over a Kent State defender in a game at Sun Devil Stadium in Temp, AZ. On August 29, 2019. (Arianna Grainey)

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Arianna Grainey | Episode 15

Story on homelessness in Tempe, Arizona. (Arianna Grainey/City of Tempe)

Arianna Grainey (Photo by JJ Digos)

The NewsGuild in the newsroom at Block Communications and Gannett 

Indianapolis Star NewsGuild president Jenna Watson fights for worker’s rights at the Indy Star. (Grace Hollars)

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Jenna Watson, Kurt Steins and Alexandra Wiley | Episode 14

Social media: Twitter ⁠@⁠⁠Jenna Watson | @Alexandra Wimley | @Kurt Steiss
Instagram ⁠@Jenna⁠ | @Alexandra | @Kurt   WebsiteNewsGuild-CWA

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

This episode of the Buckeye Visualist is dedicated to NewsGuild-CWA members who fight for the working rights of journalists and staff working in their newsrooms. 

Host Lori King interviewed three photojournalists with Ohio connections, either through birth or employment: Kent, Ohio native Jenna Watson, of the Indy Star and president of the Indy NewsGuild; Alexandra Wimley, currently on strike from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and Kurt Steiss, who’s active with his union at the Toledo Blade

It’s an illuminating conversation, and one we must continue to have as union members continually fight for their working rights in not only our newsrooms but everywhere: Starbucks, AUW, the Writers Guild of America, UPS.

Listen as three brave (yes, brave … it takes guts to fight against the hand that bites you) visual journalists discuss the benefits of being in a union; the support system a union provides members and their families during a strike; the bargaining power of collective action; and how to form and maintain a union. 

The NewsGuild-CWA was founded in 1933, and now is composed of more than 25,000 journalists and others in 200 media organizations in the United States and Canada. 

Alexandra Wimley, pictured at the spot where she took the photograph that ran on the front page of the Post-Gazette the day after the murders at Tree of Life Congregation in 2018. (Steve Mellon)

When reality strikes: Kurt Steiss has never received a raise in the six years he’s worked at The Blade. (Lori King)

On the road with The Buckeye Visualist at 2023 ONPA convention

In this special ONPA Convention Episode (Part I) of the Buckeye Visualist, LA Times roving foreign correspondent Marcus Yam takes us back to when and where his award-winning photojournalism career began — at his school newspaper at the University at Buffalo, which led him to his first photojournalism job at the Buffalo News.

Formally of Malaysia, Yam’s long and twisting journey to the LA Times is one of grit, perseverance and luck. It includes multiple newspaper internships, a successful freelance gig at the New York Times and a short stint at the Seattle Times, where he won one of his three Pulitzer Prizes for breaking news photography. 

Yam was the keynote speaker at this year’s ONPA Convention in Columbus, Ohio. Not only did he show his amazing work, which included his stories documenting wildfires in California, the San Bernardino terrorist attack, the deadly landslide in Oso, Washington, and the fall of Afghanistan, which earned him his first solo Pulitzer for Breaking News Photography, he also made time for portfolio reviews.

LA Times roving foreign correspondent Marcus Yam shares his story from almost dropping out of high school to being a multiple Pulitzer Prize winner. (©Lori King)

He also won the NPPA 2022 Photojournalist of the Year – Large Market. His winning portfolio includes his work on the Gaza border.

In the podcast, Yam is candid about his broken relationship with his family due to his career choice, living out of a suitcase for the past three years, and how the connection with people is more important than the technical stuff.

In Part II, ONPA leaders Kimberly Barth and Bob DeMay revisit the history of the Ohio News Photographers Association – when it was founded and where it is now. 

You will also hear from #Ohio University photojournalism professor Stan Alost and two of his photojournalism students. They discuss the classes that prepare our future generation of storytellers. Alost also talks about how OU has cranked out more Pulitzer Prize winners than he can count, including Marcus Yam, the keynote speaker for the convention. Yam was an OU grad student.

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com
Lori King: Twitter @intro2pj | Instagram @toledophotog | Website 

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Marcus Yam | Episode 12

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Kim Barth & Bob DeMay - OU professor Stan Alost - OU students Pearl Spurlock & Jack Tatum | Episode 13

Social media:
Twitter @yamphoto

Instagram 
@⁠⁠yam photo
Website ⁠marcusyam.com⁠

Social media:
Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@Bob DeMay⁠⁠⁠
Instagram @Kimberly Barth⁠
Instagram ⁠@Stan Alost

 

Ohio University professor Stan Alost and former OU grad student Marcus Yam. (©Lori King)

ONPA webmaster Bob DeMay and Board Chair Kimberly Barth. (©Lori King)

The business of freelance is a very passionate side hustle for Christy Frank

Lake Erie: The Right To Flourish is an ongoing project that began in 2014 when a poisonous algal toxin caused over 500,000 people to drinking water to three days. (Christy Frank)

In this episode of the Buckeye Visualist, freelance filmmaker, photographer and Eddie Adams Workshop 2022 alumni Christy Frank has a frank discussion with host Lori King about freelancing, filmmaking and having a business sense.

Listen as they chat about being a woman visual storyteller in a man’s world; how resilience and persistence pays off … eventually; and how she manages to hold down two non-visual jobs (one pays the bills and the other pays other people’s bills), which helps finance her ‘side hustle’ and true love – visual storytelling. 

Christy also talks about her debut short film, Ploverville, about two Piping Plover shorebirds she met last summer at the Maumee Bay State Park beach along Lake Erie near Toledo, Ohio. It’s an inspirational story of how her sense of curiosity and love of nature drove her to document the rare Ohio migration of these love birds.

Ploverville is a film that documents the efforts of numerous volunteers to monitor the Piping Plover family that nested in Ohio for the first time in over 83 years. (Christy Frank)

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Christy Frank | Episode 11

Christy Frank

Social media contacts: Twitter @christylfrank
Instagram @christylfrank
Websites: christyfrank.com | Ploverville.com

Got an idea for a podcast?
Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com
Lori King: Twitter @intro2pj | Instagram @toledophotog | Website 

Shane Flanigan newest member of the incredible shrinking newsroom

Social media contact: You can find Shane’s work at Twitter @SFlaniganTW | Instagram @snflanigan | Website

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

Lori King | Twitter @intro2pj | Instagram @toledophotog

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Shane Flanigan | Episode 10

In this episode of the Buckeye Visualist, guest Shane Flanigan opens up with host Lori King about his recent job loss at ThisWeek Community News in Columbus. Shane and the entire staff at ThisWeek were let go on Jan. 10 after media company Gannett went from publishing 24 different small-town community newspapers in the Columbus area to literally none

Listen as they discuss news deserts and hometown coverage voids; how he braced for the possibility of being laid off since his graduation from Kent State in 2013; why he thinks being a generalist shooter is a good thing; what he plans on entering in the ONPA contest this year; and what his future plans are … now that he’s unemployed.

Shane Flanigan

Osten McDaniel, of Powell, rides around the edge of Adventure Park’s skate pool in Powell. (Shane Flanigan / ThisWeek Newspapers)

Lancaster’s Tony Falvo tags out Grove City’s Grady Speegle at second base during a Division I district final at Grove City High School. (Shane Flanigan / ThisWeek Newspapers)

A walk down memory lane with Dale Omori

A filmmaker today, Dale Omori won two ONPA POY titles as a photojournalist at The Plain Dealer and a clip POY title while working at the Kettering-Oakwood Times.

On this episode of the Buckeye Visualist podcast, guest Dale Omori and host Lori King go down memory lane as he name drops a few legacy names from his past stints at the Kettering Oakwood Times (Kettering, Ohio) and the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Dale is product of Bowling Green State University (Ohio), and earned a photojournalism degree under the tutelage of the late, great Jim Gordon. He talks about how Gordon took him into the pj program (when it existed) without a portfolio or photography experience, and confesses which grade he never earned from Gordon. 

Listen to our conversation as he also talks about his love of video, which led him from being a still photographer to a filmmaker. He currently owns his own business, Omori Media, and is dedicated to telling stories his own way; gives advice to aspiring young storytellers; and tauts the power of an organization like the Ohio News Photographer Association.

Social media contact: You can find Dale’s work, including the films American Heartbreak and American Dinner on his website: daleomori.com

Lori King | Website and Social Media
Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

American Dinner depicts my family’s history with the canned meat, Spam, and how it led to an unexpected connection. (Dale Omori)

American Heartbreak begins on May 4th, 1970, on the campus of Kent State University with the killing of four students and reveals a reluctant hero who was forever troubled by what he witnessed. (Dale Omori)

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Dale Omori | Episode 9

Stephen Zenner from missionary to journalist

Milana Bevza (6) and Eva Potahenko (5) both of Borodianka, Ukraine, play at a playground in front of apartments destroyed by Russian artillery and air fire in Borodianka, Ukraine. (Stephen Zenner / The Blade)

Stephen Zenner shared his passion for documenting refugees. (Lori King)

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Stephen Zenner | Episode 8

On this episode of the Buckeye Visualist, Toledo Blade multimedia journalist and former missionary Stephen Zenner opens up with host Lori King about morphing from artist to journalist; his passion for documenting refugees; his belief that being unbiased in journalism is BS; and the moment he started caring about politics and the news. 

It’s an inspirational story artists and those who ended up in photojournalism without a college degree or even caring about the news or politics as a youngster can relate to. 

Social media contact: Stephen Zenner |Instagram #zennerstephen
Photo gallery – A Vietnam War vet channels life’s sadness into glittering ornaments
Stephen Zenner portfolio

Lori King | Website and Social Media
Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

Vitalli Vasylets, 67, of Katiuzhanka, sits in front of his garage in Katiuzhanka, Ukraine. Vasylets has been visited by Russians three times, including one time they damaged his car, but sees no point to fleeing his motherland that he loves. (Stephen Zenner / The Blade)

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Scott Doelling | Episode 7

Scott Doelling with his wife Christina and children Cameron and Lainey

Scott Doelling from platypus to POY

On this episode of the Buckeye Visualist, guest Scott Doelling represents the television photojournalists in Buckeye Land! 

Doelling, the recently promoted director of photography at WBNS-TV in Columbus, is the 2021 ONPA TV Photographer of the Year. He also won that distinguished honor in 2015. 

The Ohio transplant chats about the lucky break that landed him his first TV job; that decisive moment when he realized he was happier behind the camera than in front of it; what he learned at the NPPA Workshop in Norman, Oklahoma, and how important workshops are for skill development; and gives advice on what makes a good story.

He also shares his most embarrassing moment while covering his first presidential election. Trust me .. it’s a moment he will never forget.

Social media contact: Scott Doelling |Twitter @Scottd10tv 

Lori King | Website and Social Media

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

Back to school time for Barbara Perenic

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Barbara Perenic | Episode 6

In this episode of The Buckeye Visualist, Columbus Dispatch photographer Barb Perenic talks about her decision to go back to school, and how being a grad student at Kent State University is inspiring her to share what she knows to fellow journalists and students.

Perenic, a staff photojournalist at The Columbus Dispatch for nine years, also chats about parenthood; how she respects her journalist and MMJ husband, Dayton Daily News’ Dave Jablonski; how photojournalists – and journalists – should always strive to learn new skills, including TikTok; that visual  journalists have the best job; and much more!

Social media contact: Barb Perenic |Twitter @FiveFootPhotog | Instagram @fivefootphotog

Dave Jablonski | Twitter @DavidPJablonski

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

Barb Perenic with her son Chase and husband Dave Jablonski

Member Spotlight – JD Pooley

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/JD Pooley | Episode 5

JD Pooley and Chris Hondros, Troy, Ohio mid 90’s. (Photo by Steve Hebert)

Chris Hondros (left) and Tyler Hicks in Wilmington, NC. (Photo by JD Pooley)

This episode of the Buckeye Visualist spotlights long-time ONPA member JD Pooley, a multimedia journalist at the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune. 

On this show: Pooley shares how he used his dad’s Pentax film camera to cover car fires, protests and strikes … while in high school! He’s now 48, and said he’s seen a lot of changes in the photojournalism industry over the span of his career – B&W and color film, to scanning color negatives, to digital. 

What was (and still is) his biggest learning curve … and fear? Listen and find out!

We also honor his friendship with the late war photographer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Chris Hondros, as well as NYT’s Tyler Hicks and Getty’s Spencer Platt. They all worked together at the Troy Daily News in the 90s.

To see his award-winning photojournalism work: Sentinel-Tribune multimedia page | Twitter 

Student Photographer of the Year Erin Burk

This episode of the Buckeye Visualist is dedicated to photojournalism students, so it makes perfect sense that Ohio University student Erin Burk is our featured guest this month. But the 2021 ONPA Chuck Scott Photographer of the Year winner wasn’t alone … she had a small audience join her in the Zoom room! Podcast host Lori King also invited her Wayne State University (Detroit) photojournalism class to witness the conversation and ask questions. 

Listen in as Burk, who also took fifth place in the 2022 Hearst Photojournalism II competition, talks about how a broken arm led her to the moment she fell in love with photography, why she chose OU, and how she plans to use grant and scholarship money to work on a long-term photo story documenting how the military is encroaching on sacred spaces in Guam.

Social media contact: Erin Burk |Website https://www.erinburk.com/| Instagram #erinmichelleburk

Lori King | Twitter @intro2pj | Instagram @toledophotog

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot host Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Student POY winner, Erin Burk | Episode 4

Image from the 1st place feature picture story entry and portfolio of Erin Burk from Ohio University, the ONPA 2021 Chuck Scott Student Photographer of the Year. Link to entire portfolio

Photojournalism in an online world

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Meg Vogel | Episode 3

In this episode of The Buckeye Visualist, Cincinnati Enquirer photojournalist Meg Vogeltalks about her decision to produce a video of Bengals fans from around the world documenting themselves celebrating the moment they realized their beloved team was finally going to the Super Bowl.

Vogel collected more than 300 video clips, then produced a 3:20-minute video showing highlights of ecstatic fans cheering, screaming and even crying after the ‘kick heard around the world’ sent the Kansas City Chiefs packing.

Vogel, who has been with her hometown newspaper for seven years now, also touts her other video projects, doesn’t think that newspapers going online is such a bad thing, and shares why she doesn’t appreciate being called a reporter’s photographer.

Social media contact: Meg Vogel |Twitter @MegVogelphoto| Instagram @megvogelphoto

 

Lori King | Twitter @intro2pj | Instagram @toledophotog
Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot host Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

Kyle Robertson: the Clip King

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Kyle Robertson | Episode 2

Lori King is joined by eight-time ONPA Clip Photographer of the Year, Kyle Robertson from The Colmbus Dispatch.  Robertson talks about camera gear, lighting, his shooting philosophy and about changes at the paper during his 17 years in Columbus.

The father of two young hockey players even divulges when he plans to hang up his cameras to become a full-time hockey dad.

Social media contacts:
Kyle Robertson | Twitter @KRobPhoto| Instagram @krobphoto
Lori King | Twitter @intro2pj | Instagram @toledophotog
Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot host Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

 

April – 2nd place – General News – Ohio State students surround a Columbus Police vehicle while marching down High Street and towards the Ohio Statehouse to protest the police shooting that killed Ma’Khia Bryant and call on the university to cut its ties with Columbus Police Department. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)

2021 winning clips of Kyle Robertson

Working during Covid

The Buckeye Visualist

by Lori King w/Josh Bickel & Andrew Dolph | Episode 1

In this inaugural episode of The Buckeye Visualist podcast, host and ONPA member Lori King chats with Columbus Dispatch photographer Josh Bickel, and Andrew Dolph, a photojournalist with the Times-Reporter in New Philadelphia.

Bickel is the current president of ONPA, and Dolph takes over as the association’s new president this spring. Listen as we dive into their take on the danger of being a photojournalist during Covid, preparing for annual picture contests, and keeping the ONPA a vital resource for professional, student and retired Buckeye photojournalists.

Social media contacts:
Josh Bickel |Twitter @joshuabickel| Instagram @joshualbickel
Andrew Dolph | Twitter @andrewdolph | Instagram @dolphphoto
Lori King | Twitter @intro2pj | Instagram @toledophotog

Got an idea for a podcast? Shoot host Lori King an email at lorikingblog@gmail.com

 

The Buckeye Visualist

The official podcast of the Ohio News Photographers Association

Lori King, host and founder of The Buckeye Visualist, is an adjunct multimedia instructor at the University of Toledo and Wayne State University (Detroit). She was a photojournalist with the Toledo Blade for 26 years, retiring in August 2021.  She is also a retired military journalist, serving 18 years in the army and three years in the Air National Guard.

The Buckeye Visualist
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