I Was Arrested for Doing My Job as a Reporter. Who’s Next?

 Via The New York Times

by Georgia Fort

Ms. Fort is an independent journalist based in Minnesota.

February 5, 2026

"Journalism is a public service, and I am proud to be a public servant. Professional reporting, observing and documenting is not a crime. But the freedom to do so is at risk. In November alone, three journalists were hit with pepper balls or other less lethal munitions and subjected to chemical agents while covering an ICE arrest in St. Paul. One, a Minnesota Public Radio reporter, was taken away by ambulance. Cameras were rolling. Press credentials were visible but offered no protection. I interviewed the St. Paul chief of police about these attacks in December. He refused to acknowledge that the incidents had occurred, even though several journalists had filmed and photographed them, including me. I filed a Freedom of Information Act request a few days after the interview to obtain body-camera footage of the attack on these journalists. It was denied.

These incidents are not isolated. After the fatal shooting of Renee Good, the independent photographer KingDemetrius Pendleton was tear-gassed by federal agents and was apparently shot with a chemical munitions canister. The Star Tribune video journalist Mark Vancleave was pushed back into his car by federal agents after trying to report on an ICE arrest, which he was covering for The Associated Press. The KARE 11 anchor Jana Shortal was hit with a chemical irritant while reporting after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.

Having the right to film and document matters. Footage can disprove false accusations or confirm hard truths. It can exonerate or incriminate. Days after the church protest, Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, was fatally shot by ICE agents. In the minutes that followed, videos from multiple angles of the shooting were published online, and this allowed the public, the press and the authorities to review the evidence." --full article here.

Related: Free Speech in Deep Freeze

Today: Lessons from Minneapolis - Legal, safety and ethical considerations for photographers

 Via  Photographic Center Northwest

February 5, 2026

Lessons from Minneapolis

Legal, safety and ethical considerations for photographers

Join us Thursday, February 5, for a timely online panel discussion with photojournalists Nate Gowdy, David Ryder, Leah Millis, and Alicia Wagner Calzada, Deputy General Counsel for the National Press Photographers Association. Moderated by Josh Trujillo, photographer and educator, the conversation will examine safety in protest coverage, photographers’ rights, and the legal and ethical considerations shaping photojournalism in today’s political climate.

Panelists & Moderator include:

Alicia Wagner Calzada — Deputy General Counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, where she focuses on press freedom, First Amendment protections, and legal advocacy for journalists working in the field.

Nate Gowdy — Seattle-based photographer whose work examines American politics and identity through a documentary and fine-art lens. He is the author of INSURRECTION, a timestamped photojournalistic chronicle of January 6.

David Ryder — Seattle-based freelance photojournalist who has covered war, wildfires, natural disasters, and protest movements across the United States, and who has completed hostile-environment training.

Leah Millis — Washington, D.C.–based photojournalist and press-safety advocate whose reporting spans politics, international protest movements, war, immigration, and the rise of domestic extremism in the United States.

Josh Trujillo — Educator, photojournalist, brand storyteller, and ethical journalism advocate.

Register for Zoom here

Image of 5-year-old boy reminds us of the power of photography

 Via National Press Photographers Association

February 1, 2026

A single image can make us stop scrolling. Make us think and feel, confront us. But what are the types of images that have the power to do this? And can they provoke societal change, bend the arc of history? A widely published photo of a five-year-old boy on his way home from school in Minnesota — wearing a winter hat with bunny ears — hints at answers to these questions.

Whatever your view regarding the immigration debate, the can’t-look-away photo of Liam puts a face on America’s attempt at mass deportation. --click for full article

New Exhibit: Margaret Bourke-White Photojournalist

 Via Monroe Gallery

February 1, 2026

Margaret Bourke-White/©Life Picture Collection

Louisville Flood Red Cross Relief Station, Kentucky, 1936

Monroe Gallery of Photography, 112 Don Gaspar, is pleased to announce an exhibition of important photographs by Margaret Bourke-White. The exhibition dates are February 6 – April 25, 2026. (No opening reception)

Margaret Bourke-White was a pioneer for women and an icon in American photography. As a founding member of LIFE (she photographed the first cover), she became a world-famous symbol of globe-trotting photojournalism. And that she did it in a male world made her success even more spectacular. Her photos have proven to have a timeless appeal, continuing to influence viewers’ opinions not only about the subjects photographed, but also about the artist behind the camera and the times in which she lived.

Margaret Bourke White was one of the most famous and most successful photographers of her time. Her combination of intelligence, talent, ambition, and flexibility made her an ideal contributor to the new journalism that developed during the thirties. She was a woman, doing a man's job, in a man's world, from the foundries of Cleveland to the battlefields in World War II. She had a deep-rooted belief in an artist’s duty to change the world. Known to her Life colleagues as “Maggie the Indestructible,” Bourke-White documented some of the most pivotal moments of the 20th century and changed the face of photography, dramatically altering the influence of photojournalism by using a new technique, the photographic essay. Not only did she document many of the most significant events of the 20th century, she also put a human face to the tragedies and the injustices of the powerful. She showed that photographers could be brave, could influence public opinion, and could be strong women.

View the exhibition here.

Ryan Vizzions Photograph From Minneapolis Featured in NY Times

 Via The New York Times

January 30, 2026

The Case Against the Department of Homeland Security

"But the rot goes deeper at the Department of Homeland Security, the behemoth that controls ICE, Customs and Border Protection (C.B.P.) and myriad other federal agencies, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Secret Service. Since its founding in 2002, a combination of organizational flaws and mission creep has allowed D.H.S. to evolve into the out-of-control domestic security apparatus we have today, one that views the very people it is supposed to protect as threats, not humans."

Ryan Vizzions

Ed Kashi: A Period in Time, 1977 – 2022

 Via Lens Scratch

January 25, 2026

“A single photograph may not change the world in one fell swoop, but it can change a person’s mind, which is where change begins.”– Ed Kashi

Ed Kashi is a photojournalist, filmmaker, speaker and educator who has been making images and telling stories for over 40 years. Kashi has produced a number of influential short films and earned recognition by the POYi Awards as 2015’s Multimedia Photographer of the Year. Kashi’s embrace of technology has led to social media projects for clients including National Geographic, The New Yorker, and MSNBC. Along with numerous awards from World Press Photo, POYi, CommArts and American Photography, Kashi’s images have been published and exhibited worldwide. His editorial assignments and personal projects have generated fourteen books. In 2002, Kashi in partnership with his wife, writer + filmmaker Julie Winokur, founded Talking Eyes Media. The non-profit company has produced numerous award-winning short films, exhibits, books, and multimedia pieces that explore significant social issues. Kashi is represented by Monroe Gallery, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. --click here for full article and interview

The Faces—and Middle Fingers—of the ICE Resistance in Minneapolis: Photographs by Ron Haviv

 Via The New Republic

January 23, 2026

Ron Haviv: A Minneapolis resident gives Bovino and his entourage of ICE agents the middle finger after they stopped for gas and pepper-sprayed the crowd that surrounded them.

War photographer Ron Haviv spent several days documenting the protests across the city.

"This needs to be documented, but at the same time the administration wants these images to be seen. They want people to see that they are doing what they said they would do. Second, they want it to create motivation for self-deportation. It is a very complicated formula.

This expansion of ICE, in terms of budget, personnel, and territory, is shocking for many people to witness, especially their masked presence and their weapons. Immigration policy isn’t black and white. In some areas, there’s agreement with what they are doing; in others, total opposition. But adding an element of cruelty, when things could be handled better, doesn’t make sense.

I’ve photographed under dictators, societies on the cusp of breakup, and outright invasion. One of the closest comparisons I see, in terms of class, economics, and values, is the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. People talked about being in a conflict over religion, but it was really about power and money, convincing people that those who were different were the enemy. That led to years of war. We are not there yet, but when rhetoric is backed by armed force, that’s how escalation begins. We’re starting to get used to the visualization of militarization on the streets. It feels like this is only going to increase. There’s no de-escalation. Minnesota is becoming a standard for activist reaction to ICE deployment." -Ron Haviv (click for full article)

Monroe Gallery Photojournalists Documenting Minneapolis ICE Protests and Demonstrations

 January 18, 2026

Monroe Gallery photojournalists are covering the thousands of ICE and Border Patrol officers flooding into Minneapolis and the intensifying situation after the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good.

Mark Peterson

Via The New York Times

Ron Haviv

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A post shared by Ron Haviv (@ronhaviv_vii)

David Butow

 

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A post shared by David Butow (@davidbutow)

Ryan Vizzions

Via Instagram



“The public should assume responsibility for creating an accurate record of what’s happening. It’s a big job that requires participation from all of civil society, including the local press, religious and community groups, librarians and teachers. Everyone. In every city. This is not an act of protest. It is record-keeping. There will come a time when people will want to know what it was like to be here, now. What was it like to work in a food truck or at a Home Depot when federal agents showed up? What was it like to be randomly stopped or followed on the sidewalk while walking home from a store? What’s it like for Native Americans to be accused by ICE of being undocumented?” --Poynter

As federal immigration enforcement expands and accountability falters, journalists and citizens share a duty to document this moment.

 Via Poynter

January 16, 2026

Perilous times call for the participation of all --click for full article

“The public should assume responsibility for creating an accurate record of what’s happening. It’s a big job that requires participation from all of civil society, including the local press, religious and community groups, librarians and teachers. Everyone. In every city. This is not an act of protest. It is record-keeping. There will come a time when people will want to know what it was like to be here, now. What was it like to work in a food truck or at a Home Depot when federal agents showed up? What was it like to be randomly stopped or followed on the sidewalk while walking home from a store? What’s it like for Native Americans to be accused by ICE of being undocumented?”

More: This moment will be defined by what we choose to record

Joe McNally receives the International Award from The American Society of Photographers

 

Via American Society of Photographers

Congratulations to Joe McNally on receiving the International Award from The American Society of Photographers.

Joe McNally’s journey began in New York City in 1976 as a copyboy at the Daily News, earning the lowest pay grade in the newsroom and living in a cheap Manhattan hotel. What followed was not instant glamour, but decades of relentless drive, curiosity, and commitment to the craft. Joe stepped onto the tightrope of freelance photography and never looked back.

Over the past 40 years, his assignments have taken him to nearly 70 countries and into the pages of National Geographic, LIFE, Time, Sports Illustrated, and more. Long before becoming one of the most recognized photographers in the world, Joe was also a dedicated educator and bestselling author, building a career one assignment at a time, imagining a life and then taking pictures of it.

The ASP International Award is presented annually to an individual or organization whose contributions have meaningfully advanced the ideals of professional photography as both an art and a science on a global scale. This distinguished honor reflects ASP’s commitment to recognizing those whose influence transcends borders, elevating the craft and inspiring excellence within the international photographic community.