The moment Darnella Frazier hit record, she proved anyone can hold power to account

 Via Poynter

March 17, 2025

Her 9-minute video of George Floyd’s murder became undeniable proof, fueling a global movement and reinforcing the power of citizen journalism

 

 With the single tap of a touchscreen, Darnella Frazier captured a historic moment and thrust citizen journalism into the spotlight.

The then-17-year-old Minneapolis high school student was walking to the store with her cousin on what should have been a normal Monday evening. Then, she saw police restraining a man on the pavement. She quickly pulled out her phone and began recording.

That man was George Floyd.

Frazier eventually earned a citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board for her 10 minute and 9 second video of police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck as Floyd pleaded for his life.

Her video symbolized the power of citizen journalism, demonstrating that in an era where everyone has a camera, anyone can hold power to account.


This video is part of The Poynter 50, a series reflecting on 50 moments and people that shaped journalism over the past half-century — and continue to influence its future. As Poynter celebrates its 50th anniversary, we examine how the media landscape has evolved and what it means for the next era of news.

Video by Dominique Taylor
Video clips by Jennifer Glenfield/Tampa Bay Times
Photos by AP/Shutterstock

A Statement from Columbia Journalism School Faculty Defending Press Freedom

 Via Columbia Journalism School

March 14, 2025

Freedom of the press – a bedrock principle of American democracy — is under threat in the United States. Here at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism we are witnessing and experiencing an alarming chill. We write to affirm our commitment to supporting and exercising First Amendment rights for students, faculty, and staff on our campus — and, indeed, for all.          (more)

After Homeland Security seized and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate of Columbia's School of Public and International Affairs, without charging him with any crime, many of our international students have felt afraid to come to classes and to events on campus. 

They are right to be worried. Some of our faculty members and students who have covered the protests over the Gaza war have been the object of smear campaigns and targeted on the same sites that were used to bring Khalil to the attention of Homeland Security. President Trump has warned that the effort to deport Khalil is just the first of many.

These actions represent threats against political speech and the ability of the American press to do its essential job and are part of a larger design to silence voices that are out of favor with the current administration. We have also seen reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is trying to deport the Palestinian poet and journalist Mosab Abu Toha, who has written extensively in the New Yorker about the condition of the residents of Gaza and warned of the mortal danger to Palestinian journalists. 

There are thirteen million legal foreign residents (green card holders) in the United States. If the administration can deport Khalil, it means those 13 million people must live in fear if they dare speak up or publish something that runs afoul of government views. There are more than one million international students in the United States. They, too, may worry that they are no longer free to speak their mind. Punishing even one person for their speech is meant to intimidate others into self-censorship.

One does not have to agree with the political opinions of any particular individual to understand that these threats cut to the core of what it means to live in a pluralistic democracy. The use of deportation to suppress foreign critics runs parallel to an aggressive campaign to use libel laws in novel — even outlandish ways — to silence or intimidate the independent press. The president has sued CBS for an interview with Kamala Harris which Trump found too favorable. He has sued the Pulitzer Prize committee for awarding prizes to stories critical of him. He has even sued the Des Moines Register for publishing the results of a pre-election poll that showed Kamala Harris ahead at that point in the state. Large corporations like Disney and Meta settled lawsuits most lawyers thought they could win because they did not want to risk the wrath of the Trump administration and jeopardize business they have with the federal government. Amazon and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos decided that the paper’s editorial pages would limit themselves to pieces celebrating “free markets and individual liberties.” 

Meanwhile, the Trump administration insists on hand-picking the journalists who will be permitted to cover the White House and Pentagon, and it has banned the Associated Press from press briefings because the AP is following its own style book and refusing to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. 

The Columbia Journalism School stands in defense of First Amendment principles of free speech and free press across the political spectrum. The actions we’ve outlined above jeopardize these principles and therefore the viability of our democracy. All who believe in these freedoms should steadfastly oppose the intimidation, harassment, and detention of individuals on the basis of their speech or their journalism. 

Signed,

The Faculty of Columbia Journalism School

Podcast: Documenting war crimes with Ron Haviv

 Via iMEDd

March 12, 2025

Listen here.

Photography Exhibition: “A Brief Guide to Investigating War Crimes”

Documenting war and war crimes is a special segment of photojournalism. Tim McShea, a student at Johns Hopkins University, discusses with Emmy nominated and award-winning photojournalist Ron Haviv the stories behind some of his iconic photos (see here) during iMEdD’s International Journalism Forum for the Forum’s pop-up newsroom. Ron Haviv is a co-founder of VII Photo Agency & The VII Foundation.  

A selection of Ron Haviv's photographs will be part of the Monroe Gallery presentation at The Photography Show presented by AIPAD in booth C8, Park Avenue Armory, NYC, April 23 - 27, 2025.

Tuesday, March 11 On Leica Stories: In Conversation with David Butow

 Via B & H Photo

March 10, 2025

Photojournalist David Butow has documented some of the most notable events over the past few decades, from the 2003 Iraqi invasion to the Trump presidency. Join us for a conversation about David’s acclaimed career and principled approach to photojournalism. Tuesday, March 11 -  3-4 PM (Eastern)

David Butow

David Butow is an acclaimed American photojournalist whose work spans decades and continents, known particularly for his unflinching documentation of social and political issues around the world. After beginning his career as a staff photographer for various newspapers, Butow transitioned to freelance work that has appeared in major publications including National Geographic, TIME, and The New York Times Magazine. His notable projects include coverage of the 2003 Iraq invasion, the Asian tsunami of 2004-05, and the 2019 democracy protests in Hong Kong. His 2021 book "BRINK" chronicled American politics during the Trump presidency. Butow's distinctive visual style combines journalistic integrity with an artistic sensibility that captures both the gravity and humanity of his subjects, earning him recognition through multiple awards and exhibitions of his work in galleries and museums internationally.

Hosted by Leica

NY Times: How Eric Adams Lost New York Features Photographs by Ashley Gilbertson

 Via The New York Times

March 8, 2025

By Matt Flegenheimer and Dana Rubinstein

Photographs by Ashley Gilbertson

He promised law and order. Instead, his scandal-ridden mayoralty became a symbol — and engine — of the city’s chaos. --full article here

At a Black History Month celebration at Gracie Mansion, Adams said some people were disposable matches and others were flames worth protecting. Photograph by Ashley Gilbertson/NY Times

Winona LaDuke: DAPL Pipeline Lawsuit Against Greenpeace Aims to Silence Indigenous Protests, Too

 

Via Democracy Now!

As the oil company Energy Transfer sues Greenpeace over the 2016 Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, we speak with Indigenous activist Winona LaDuke, who took part in that historic uprising. LaDuke is an enrolled member of the Mississippi Band of Anishinaabe who lives and works on the White Earth Nation Reservation and was among the thousands of people who joined the protests in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to protect water and Indigenous lands in North Dakota. She highlights the close links between North Dakota’s government and Energy Transfer and says that while the lawsuit targets Greenpeace, Indigenous water and land defenders are also on trial. “North Dakota has really been trying to squash any kind of resistance,” says LaDuke. “If they can try to shut down Greenpeace, they’re going to shut down everybody.”

Media petition North Dakota Supreme Court for expanded access to Greenpeace trial

A Tough Start for Greenpeace in Court Fight With Pipeline Giant

A new show at the Rijksmuseum tries to make sense of the US with ‘American Photography’; includes Nina Berman's "Marine Wedding"

 

March 1, 2025

Via The Financial Times

"Nina Berman’s “Marine Wedding” chronicles the marriage in 2006 of mutilated Iraq War veteran Tyler Ziegel, a plastic dome replacing his broken skull, and his childhood sweetheart Renee Kline. The bride appears grief-stricken, the couple divorced within a year and Ziegel died at 30 from an overdose.

The first such major survey in a European museum, American Photography, drawn from the Rijksmuseum’s eclectic collection plus well-targeted loans, is timely, launched as Europe struggles to understand Trumpian America. Installed thematically — “Face to Face”, “At Home”, “On the Road”, “Selling Points”, “Death and Disaster” — it records how the camera has eyed the country in reportage, advertisements, protest posters, family and amateur snapshots, photo-booth strips, memorabilia." --Full article here

Photo exhibition "A brief guide to investigating war crimes"

 

Via Stereosis

Photo exhibition "A brief guide to investigating war crimes"

The non-profit journalism organization iMEdD (incubator for Media Education and Development) presents the photo exhibition "A Brief Guide to Investigating War Crimes", curated by award-winning photojournalist and director of the VII Foundation, Ron Haviv and the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN).

The exhibition features photographs from the GIJN Guide for journalists on war crimes investigation, with the participation of VII photographers, offering a compelling visual narrative on conflicts, war crimes and their consequences. Through these images, the exhibition highlights the importance of investigative journalism, human rights research and legal documentation in reporting the truth. 

The exhibition will be hosted at Stereosis, Thessaloniki, from 7 to 20 March 2025. 

The opening will take place on Friday, March 7 at 20:00 and admission will be free. 

In the context of the exhibition, the educational pillar of iMEdD, Ideas Zone, organizes two parallel events:

Drawing on his experience in more than 25 conflicts, including his work in the Balkans used to convict war criminals in The Hague, Haviv will share knowledge on war crimes documentation, best practices for ethical reporting, and the role of visual evidence in legal liability. Participants will gain practical skills and a deeper understanding of the responsibility involved in recording history through the lens.

Date and time: Saturday 8 March 2025, 11:00-13:00 (Duration: 120')

Lecture by Ron Haviv | "Testimony 1989-2024"

A dynamic retrospective of conflicts from Central America and the Balkans to the Arab Spring and Ukraine. Through short films and personal reflections, Haviv explores the role of the photographer, the consequences of war and the responsibility of being a martyr.

Date & Time: Sunday 9 March 2025, 11:00-13:00 (Duration: 120')

Admission is free. Due to limited seats, the workshop will be on a first-come, first-served basis and the lecture will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

What happens when a city silences a newspaper?

 Via Editor & Publisher

What happens when a city silences a newspaper? An inside look at the Clarksdale censorship case

In a shocking move that has sent ripples through the journalism and legal communities, a Mississippi judge ordered The Clarksdale Press Register to remove an editorial from its website. The piece, which criticized the lack of transparency surrounding a proposed tax initiative, was deemed defamatory by the city’s legal team — leading to an unprecedented ruling that effectively silenced the newspaper. The case raises serious First Amendment concerns, drawing national attention from press freedom advocates who warn of its dangerous implications.

In a recent episode of E&P Reports, E&P Magazine Publisher Mike Blinder sat down with The Clarksdale Press Register owner Wyatt Emmerich and Freedom of the Press Foundation Director of Advocacy Seth Stern to examine the case and its broader impact. They explored what this ruling means for press freedom, the precedent it could set, and why small newspapers must be vigilant in the face of government overreach. --click for full article

UPDATE February 25, 2025: Mississippi city drops lawsuit over newspaper editorial that judge ordered removed

 Mississippi city dropped its lawsuit Monday against a newspaper that had its editorial criticizing local leaders removed by a judge in a case that sparked widespread outrage from First Amendment advocates.

Loving Moments

Via The Albuquerque Journal

February 23, 2024

By Logan Royce Beitmen Journal Staff Writer 

Monroe Gallery of Photography presents Grey Villet’s tender images of the couple who legalized interracial love

Sixty years ago, Life Magazine photographer Grey Villet photographed Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial married couple who had been arrested and convicted under Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws. The Lovings were eventually vindicated in 1967 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia, a landmark civil rights decision that legalized interracial marriage and paved the way for same-sex marriage decades later. 

But in 1965, when Villet photographed them, the Lovings were still weary from their yearslong legal battle and publicity-shy due to threats of lynching. 

Villet’s photographs of the couple, on view at the Monroe Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe through April 13, show them engaged in everyday domestic activities. As the late photographer’s wife, Barbara Villet, wrote in a New York Times essay, these photographs humanized the Lovings and showed that they were “a quintessentially ordinary couple extraordinarily in love with each other.” 

“Emotional content always mattered most to Grey in his work and pursuit of images ‘as real as real could get.’ It’s what gives his take on the Loving family its intimacy and strength,” she wrote. “Unlike many other celebrated photographers, he avoided posing his subjects, refused to manipulate the action and simply waited patiently for telling moments to emerge, in the belief that reality would supply more truth than any imposition of his own ego.” Villet was famous for his spending many days with his subjects and shooting only with available light and a hand-held long lens, which allowed him to disappear into the background. Even the Lovings, who were quiet, private people, felt comfortable enough in his presence to reveal their intimate lives.

In addition to challenging racist ideas, Villet’s photographs of the Lovings challenged notions of gender and class, as well.

In some of his photographs, including one where Mildred is mending Richard’s shirt button and one where Richard is reclining with his head in her lap, Mildred is positioned higher in the frame than her husband, whereas in most art directed photographs and films of that era, women were traditionally positioned lower. Villet’s authentic slice-of-life images subverted the prevailing gender hierarchy. 

His tender images also challenge stereotypes about working-class masculinity. As Barbara Villet wrote in the Times essay, her husband’s portraits of Richard Loving, in particular, revealed “the face of a laborer who, despite the macho exterior, is a sensitive man.” 

Monroe Gallery’s “Loving” gives viewers the opportunity to reflect on this unlikely, history-making couple 60 years after Villet first photographed them.

‘LOVING’ By Grey Villet 

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; through April 13 

WHERE: Monroe Gallery of Photography, 112 Don Gaspar Ave., Santa Fe 

HOW MUCH: Free, monroegallery.com