Miami-based photojournalist Alie Skowronski knew there was a news story in the Galápagos Islands. She rubbed in, quite literally, to produce a science story that she managed to focus on The Associated Press about the impact of invasive species and climate change.
Skowronski took photos, shot video, and wrote the wire story. His trifecta of skill – photography, videography and writing – reflects the growing role of news photographers.
More photographers are writing news content and shooting videos, and more reporters are taking pictures and videos.
“The tools of the trade for journalism, storytelling and photography have expanded,” says Terry Eiler, who recently turned 80 and has been teaching photojournalism since the 1970s.
“The iPhone is still the default audio, video and photo tool for capturing run-and-gun narratives. Laptops, iPads, mirrorless cameras, and portable audio-video tools are the professional equipment for quality reporting and storytelling. Traditional journalists should understand audio-visual, visual image-making and editing. Reporters’ notebooks and writing implements are no longer the only tools in journalists’ pockets.”
Eiler co-founded the School of Visual Communication at Ohio University in 1986; he is now professor emeritus.
Skowronski graduated from Ohio University in December 2020, winning the William Randolph Hearst College National Photojournalism Award in 2021. Her college training included still photography, audio and video.
“If I had no video training, I would feel very unprepared,” Skowronski says.
All their media employers wanted a basic knowledge of video shooting and production. She entered The Miami Herald as a photographer in April 2022.
The Associated Press published Skowronski’s climate story from the Galápagos Islands on July 29. The AP World Week in Pictures for July 26 to August 1 included an underwater photograph of the Galápagos Islands by Skowronski.
In July, The New York Times published a lengthy article on Loren Long’s best-selling illustrated book “The Yellow Bus.” Photos and videos were by Cincinnati freelance photographer Madeleine Hordinski.
“Most photographers have to shoot video sometimes,” says Hordinski, adding that last year she shot video for her Washington Post a story about an outdoor gun range north of Cincinnati.
Photojournalists warn that shooting both stills and videos should not compromise quality. Some images are still more effective as photographs, they say. They also point out that the skills of journalists have increased as news outlets have declined.
News media management has changed as the roles of photographers have expanded. Visual journalists are more involved in brainstorming, planning and presenting stories.
Independent non-profit newsroom ProPublica exemplifying this trend, hiring veteran photographer Boyzell Hosey in 2022 as senior editor for visual storytelling.
Hosey recalls a long-gone era, early in his career, when some photographers didn’t write captions for their pictures because the writers manipulated those details. For photographers to have a “seat at the table” when it comes to newsroom management, they need to have skills beyond point-and-click photography, he says.
The Gannett-owner Columbus ships she has asked photojournalist Barbara J. Perenic to expand her role by working more closely with editors and reporters to develop and present stories. Perenic himself describes Linkedin as a “Visual Storyteller and Idea Piñata.”
A post about robotic lawn mowers, published by The Launch September 2, featured video.
Perenic’s husband, sportswriter David Jablonski, has been shooting videos since 2007.
“That’s when we first had the ability at the Springfield News-Sun to put our own videos on the website. Reporters were given small camcorders. I enjoyed it immediately,” says Jablonski. “It gave me a reason to be on the sidelines, rather than in the press box.”
Cox First Media — which owns the newspapers in Springfield, Dayton, and nearby Butler County — values videos and photos from reporters, Jablonski says. He is now a beat reporter at the Cox-owned Dayton Daily News, covering the University of Dayton Flyers and more.
Jablonski got a high-end Canon digital camera in 2012. Who taught him how to take pictures?
“I learned the basics from my wife,” he recalls, “but I learned more through trial and error.”
His crash course included photos of nearly 70 Cincinnati Reds games in 2013 under various lighting conditions.
“That took me by storm,” says the pioneering writer/photographer/videographer.
About the author: Ken Klein lives in Silver Spring, Maryland; he is retired after a career in politics, lobbying and media including The Associated Press and Gannett in Florida. Klein is an alumnus of Ohio University and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council in the Scripps College of Communication. Professionally, he has worked with the Fort Myers News-Press (Gannett), The Associated Press (Tallahassee), Senator Bob Graham, and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA).
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