First Blog Entry

I found this photo on the Lens Blog, the photojournalism blog by The New York Times, and I immediately thought that it somewhat summed up what I hope for in the future of journalism, and coupled with that, what I fear for the future as well. This photo is of a fireman standing in front of one of the uncontrolled fires that has been destroying much of California's forests. His name is not given, and neither is any information about him, except that, obviously, he is helping to fight the fire. That is one of the major reasons that this photo caught my eye, the fact that he is simply a face to a story, with no recognition of name or rank or seniority. Yet, his face and involvement in the impact that the picture has is undeniable.

This is what I hope for in the future of not just print journalism, but photojournalism as well. The quality and impact of a story determined not by a famous name, but by the no name, real person who is involved because it affects them directly, not because they're being paid to, or because they have to. The stories, pictures, interviews I like reading or listening to the most are those that involve more nameless individuals, rather than those abundant in well known religious leaders, politicians and activists. In the picture above, the man's face is stern, passionate, and focused. He has volunteered to fight fires because it was what he loved to do, not because he thought his picture might gain some notoriety in the NYT someday.

These media hungry fiends are what I fear in the future for journalism, and not only that, but the attention and coverage they receive from audiences. When Michael Jackson died, the news stations coverage of his passing was so constant that I almost forget that there were other events occurring in the world around me. Even after the million dollar funeral, the media kept reporting because it seemed as if that's what people wanted to hear. As a journalist and informed citizen, it scares me to think that we, as a society, are slowly moving away from an appreciation of not only the worldly and local news, but from an appreciation for the no name, passionate individuals that I mentioned above. The fact that so many people were entranced more on the repeated news about a toxicology report TBA in 4 weeks, then the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is astounding to me. I can only hope, that a desire for real news in the future will grow, and not falter.