Newseum

Over the Thanksgiving break I had the opportunity to to visit Newseum. Can I just say it is heaven for all types of journalists, news anchors, etc.

I have to admit though, my favorite part of the exhibit was the wall of AP Pulitzer Prize winning photographs.


Some pictures portrayed historical events that make your stomach turn and your heart hurt.

Others couldn't help but bring a smile to your face. Whatever there story was, it moved you.

I watched a short documentary on the photographers and it reinforced to me the power of a photograph. I also saw the trauma some of them had to overcome from covering these events.

Many times a photographer couldn't handle all the horrible things going on in the world and their helplessness in not being able to do much about it. Many committed suicide.

Here are a few pictures from the AP gallery.

AMONA, West Bank/Feb. 2006
A Jewish settler struggles with an Israeli security officer as authorities evacuate a West Bank settlement near the Palestinian town of Ramallah after Israel’s Supreme Court cleared the way for the demolition of nine homes at the site. This photo won first prize in The World Press Photo awards. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

His commentary on the photo

Edward Adams commentary on his photograph of the Saigon execution.


The picture (taken in 1994) depicts a famine stricken child crawling towards an United Nations food camp, located a kilometer away.
The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat it. This picture shocked the whole world. No one knows what happened to the child, including the photographer Kevin Carter who left the place as soon as the photograph was taken.
Three months later he committed suicide due to depression.


Omayra Sánchez was a 13-year old victim of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano which erupted on November 13, 1985 in Armero, Colombia, causing massive lahars which killed nearly 25,000. She was trapped for 3 days in water, concrete, and other debris before she died. Her image was taken by photojournalist, Frank Fournier, shortly before she died. The image caused controversy due to the photographer's work and the Colombian government's inaction in working to prevent the Armero tragedy despite the forewarning that had been available, when it was published worldwide after the young girl's death.


How important of a role does photography play in a news story?