Where do we go from here?

I started trying to find these negatives just before Thanksgiving.  I wanted to blog about being thankful that life had not shifted in this direction for me or most of the people I know.

While that can no longer be said, I wanted to post these images I shot in the late ’80s anyway.   I remember the situation gripping me back then and the images even more so these days.  I remember the two hours I spent at this middle class family’s house and the terror and confusion that gripped them.  To come home and find most of their belongings already being picked over on the street and faced with instant homelessness.

Photojournalism intersects with many of life's situations that need to be seen but most would rather not see.

I remember my feelings to the unpleasant situation unfolding in front of me.  A situation, among many others, that I felt compelled not only to witness but also to capture on film and visually show the realities to the public.  I remember many of the sleepless nights that resulted from my job as a photojournalist. I do not regret putting myself into the many troubling stories in order to shed light on those situations for the readers.   That’s what journalist do.

Sometimes one has to go on auto pilot to document what they are witnessing

My heart goes out to the people in this situation back then, as well as, now.  My heart also goes out to the public for the current state of journalism they sadly seem willing to accept.  For the things, over the next few years,  that will go unnoticed, unreported or briefly mentioned as twitter updates.

History has shown it is professional quality journalism that has demanded transparency in government and accountability from the powerful.  I believe the hidden agendas in press-release journalism and bias introduced by unpaid citizen journalism will further erode the public’s trust.  I’m afraid the price of the public and media’s acceptance of press-release journalism and continued encouragement of citizen journalism will be high.   Much of today’s erosion of quality journalism is brought on by the internet and society’s desire for instant information, instant updates and resulting lack of depth.  In the end, it will hurt to the very public that journalism was created to protect.

Quality journalism and photojournalism is going to be one of the most difficult things for society to lose.

Even the workers hired to do the labor struggled that day

Who will watch the hen house then?  The fox?  The chickens?  The special interest bloggers and citizen journalist?

Listening to: Joan Osborne – One of us