XXVI

And suddenly, it’s Fall

ANDREW DOLPH

SEP 1

NEWS – It’s all local

#ONPA MATTERS

It’s all about us

Nothing new to report. Stay tuned …

#OTHER INDUSTRY MATTERS – It seems more dire than ever

Where to begin? Where to end?

1/ FStoppers – 10 Ways Social Media Destroyed Photography: I loathe click-bait headlines like this, because more often than not, the drivel contained within is just that.

“The transformation of photography from a respected artistic medium into a social media commodity represents one of the most significant cultural shifts in modern creative history.”

However, all 10 points fleshed out are quite apt and really hit the nail on the head – even if not strictly applicable to photojournalism. Give it a read and then think about how and why you share work to social media. Personally, I gave Instagram a break almost a year ago. Is it time to return? What am I really missing?

2/ Freedom of the Press Foundation – The leading voice for visual journalists may be silenced. You can help. (More on the recent NPPA news.)

3/ CNN Business – 133-year old Kodak says it might have to cease operations, (again)

4/ Some noteworthy local (to you) events:

Cincinnati Camera Trade Show: Sept. 6, 9-2
Akron: Pixel Connection Popup camera store and photo walk with Gabe Wasylko: Sept. 7, 3-7pm. There will be live gear demos and a free workshops with local photographers Greg Castell and Gabe Wasylko—all inside a unique creative studio. It’s free but does require registration. If you aren’t familiar with Gabe’s work, check it out!
Masssilon: History Happy Hour with photographer Bob Rossiter at MassMu on Thursday, September 11, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Attendees will learn about astrophotography to celebrate Ohio Space Week. A cash bar will be available for guests aged 21 and older. Registration is requested for this free event, but not required, and can be completed via MassMu.org/Tickets!

“During a career as a full time staff photographer for The Canton Repository from 1972-2019 Bob Rossiter has covered everything from United States presidents to the Super Bowl. He has won numerous awards from the Associated Press and Ohio News Photographers Association. Rossiter retired from full-time work in 2019 but continues to work on a part-time basis for the Repository. Since 2019 Rossiter has turned his cameras toward the night sky for astrophotography. He will demonstrate how he images with telescopes remotely from Texas to his backyard in Jackson Township.”

5/ WSJ: Print isn’t dead (yet), as the new owners of The Onion have brought back the print edition.

“The Onion isn’t profitable, but Chief Executive Ben Collins aims to turn a profit next year. ‘People like getting something in the mail that’s not f—ing awful,’ he said.”

6/ Or is it? Atlanta Journal Constitution: On December 31 of this year, the AJC will print its last newspaper

#PEOPLE

Movement, highlights & more

If you have news about people on the move for inclusion in this section, please reach out

1/ Early in August, Sue Morrow announced in a Facebook post, “Life update: I am pleased to let y’all know that I have started working (part time) for @catchlight.io as a picture editor within their Core newsroom, reviewing work by the Fellows and assisting with their year-one enterprise projects. I am thrilled to be a part of this progressive group of creatives.

I can still be found in Athens, Ohio, in the garden among the bees, flowers, veggies with a cat named Barnadette – and teaching a couple of classes in @viscomohiou this fall.

Life is good.”

Congratulations, Sue!!!

2/ Lori King has a Substack. Coming off the heels of her recent, abrupt layoff from The Toledo Free Press where she was, “… hired to bring the publication back from the dead,” she writes that her mission with this new publication is “to combine my journalism experience with local activism.”

3/ The 2025 SPJ Awards for Ohio’s Best Journalism list is a lengthy one for Ohio journalists. Among those working strictly from the visual side of what we do are: Liz Dufor, Sam Greene, Jeremy Wadsworth, Ryan Leow (freelance, now Signal Akron), Andrew Theophilus (freelance), Nick Graham (Journal-News), and Tim Johnson (Columbus Monthly).

Big wins: Congratulations to Jeremy Wadsworth, chief photographer at the Toledo Blade for being named Best Photographer in Ohio; Ryan Leow, freelance for Ideastream Public Media, Best Online Still Photographer in Ohio; Jean Marie-Papois, producer at Ideastream, first place Best of Show – Television/Best Videographer; Nick Graham, Journal-News, first place Best of Show small market; and, Kris Sproles, digital media/freelance, first place Best Videographer.

Sam Greene, Cincinatti Enquirer, also got the cover of the printed publication.

You can view the complete list here.

4/ Jessica Phelps has returned to Ohio – Columbus, specifically. In a Facebook post from Aug. 14 she said, “My FIRST assignment as a freelancer shot for the Columbus Dispatch back home in Ohio. So big life news, I left my job at the San Antonio Express News and moved home to Columbus about 2 weeks ago. Editors, I am available for assignments!”

5/ Maddie Hordinski, a keynote speaker at our 74th annual ONPA Convention, has announced that she is engaged. Congratulations!

6/ CORRECTION: In last month’s newsletter I stated erroneously that Samantha Madar had filled Barbara Perenic’s former position at the Dispatch. That role has not been re-opened.

#RESOURCES and #INSPIRATIONS

Helpful things and eye-catchers

1/ If you are a fan of Naomi Fry, staff writer at The New Yorker covering books, art, and popular culture–or even if you haven’t heard of her, in 2020 she penned a piece on photographer Andy Sweet from the 1970’s, “Dread and Longing at a Nineteen-Seventies Sleepaway Camp.”

I listed it as an inspiration in a previous newsletter but failed to keep going with the narrative citation of Sweet’s tragic background as well as his history with Mary Ellen Mark. After returning to that piece by Lauren Groff, in Oxford American, I am floored by the profound tragedy of his murder.

“On October 17, 1982, Andy was stabbed twenty-nine times with a kitchen knife and a screwdriver. He was twenty-eight years old. Something strange had been in the air; Andy had been worried enough to invest in an alarm system. The two workers who installed the system were leaving when two rough-looking men shouldered their way inside the condo. The door closed behind them. The installers ran outside to get weapons but could find only sticks. They heard a struggle inside but then heard nothing. They were frightened and left.”

2/ National Press Foundation: Know your rights – This is two years old now, but worthy of revisiting, or viewing for the first time in case you missed it.

The First Amendment protects the freedom of religion, speech, the press and protest. “But the First Amendment isn’t absolute, it’s what’s known as being subject to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions,” Osterreicher said.

3/ Education Writers Association – something helpful for all journalists, because it could happen anywhere, anytime: Reporting Guide: Covering School Shootings and Gun Violence

4/ Ohio Magazine.com – Alex Goetz Talks Filmmaking in Nature

From 2024, but I’m just now getting to it: Documentarian Alex Goetz of Toledo (originally from Cleveland) shares how a career behind the camera has taken him around the world and allowed him to share stories from Ohio.

Alex and his creative partner Justin Grubb founded the company Running Wild, a “multi-award-winning production company focused on wildlife, conservation, science, and community storytelling,” according to their website.

You can read more about their most recent project and funding campaign for the film Oak Openings, which showcases the beauty of a forgotten region that spans from northwest Ohio into southeast Michigan, and was named one of 200 of the “Last Great Places on Earth,” by The Nature Conservancy.

5/ The NPPA has launched a new tool available only to members. So far, based upon a quick survey, it only lists what credentials are needed at statehouses.

“Welcome to the NPPA’s Press Credential Map! This resource allows members to quickly see what press credentialing opportunities are issued in regions where they live or intend to travel, and then directs you to the appropriate issuing agency. Note that the map only displays credentials offered by region: it does not show credentials specific to events (e.g.; athletic events, concerts, etc).”

6/ By now, you’ve likely seen the recent tennis picture from the U.S. Open made by Italian professional tennis photographer, Ray Guibulino. Here’s the story.

7/ The 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is here, and photojournalists are sharing looks back. Here’s some that caught my eye:

Robin Young of WBUR’s Here & Now spoke with photojournalist John McCusker about images he captured during Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans 20 years ago this week. You can listen to that, here.
Cara Owsley, DOP at the Cincinnati Enquirer lived the storm as a staffer at the Times-Picayune. She evacuated to Atlanta, only to return to absolute devastation.

Mandy Wright, of The Detroit Free Press, said, “My boss at the time, Nancy Andrews, tapped me to fly into Houston to replace another photographer, the late David Gilkey, who had to return to Detroit for a wedding after covering the storm’s destruction in Alabama, where it tossed boats into houses and flattened forests.”

“When people ask me what some of my favorite assignments are, it’s hard to answer, because in an unlikely way, tragedy sometimes brings out the best in humanity. Sometimes the worst. But what I learned about the people of New Orleans and Louisiana is that they are proud of where they live, they are generous and kind in the worst of times, and they are aware of inherent dangers.”
Mike Cardew, a staff photographer at the Akron Beacon Journal with about 40 years of experience, penned a recent piece on his experiences 20 years ago covering Hurricane Katrina. If there’s a paywall, you can view the gallery for free.

USA Today’s look back in pictures
Stephen Voss, in a Facebook post about his last night there: “It’s hard not to give in to a feeling that nothing is going to get better here, that aid will never get to the people stranded in little pockets throughout the city who need it most.”
David Rae Morris, of the Mississippi Free Press – ‘Such Pain and Misery’: Photojournalist Recalls Post-Katrina Gulf Coast, New Orleans
Newsweek: Eight Photojournalists Recall the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Barbara Davidson, staff photojournalist at the Dallas Morning News, shared a collection of her work while there