It seemed to me that more people were making pictures of the election this year than ever before. The proliferation of cell phones and compact digital cameras made photographing campaign stops, polling places and celebration parties easy. Almost everyone was a potential photographer.
However, producing quality election photojournalism, is far more difficult.
So much of what happens for public viewing is orchestrated. It's staged. To show a truer side of the election, journalists need to get behind the scenes.
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www.jsonline.com
Election coverage from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. |
And that is all about being proactive, planning and getting out ahead of the news.
That means contacting the candidates ahead of time and convincing them to let you hang out with them throughout the day and into the night. It means securing some elevation by climbing up a stepladder before the race is called. It means being with the winning candidate the next day as she visits supporters and, hopefully, begins to refocus on the issues that carried her into office.
It means being an authentic witness to serve as the eyes of the community.
I asked several of my colleagues to tell me about some of the interesting ways the photojournalists who work at their publications covered the election. These are all examples of great photographic reporting. More than anything, they're examples of great planning.
"To the polling place, from everywhere"
Boston GlobeSent by Paula Nelson, Director of Photography
This project incorporates audio and photos to portray the voters at a certain polling precinct.
"Election day photos"The Indianapolis Star
Sent by Mike Fender, Director of Photography
Photographers from the newspaper gathered images and video throughout the day, ultimately putting together a collection of 73 images and 7 videos.
"Election 2006"San Jose Merury News
Sent by Geri Migielicz, Director of Photography
In an interactive structure, this project presents audio and photos to illustrate everyone involved in the election, from the voters, to the poll workers, to the candidates.
"Bittersweet defeat"Chicago Tribune
Sent by Torry Bruno, AME for Photography
Combining
ambient sound and photography, this extraordinary piece brings to life
the tension that gripped a Chicago ballroom in the moments before Tammy
Duckworth lost her race for a House seat.
"Election 2006"Milwaulkee Journal Sentinel
Sent by Sherman Williams, AME for Photography
The audio, photos and video that the newpaper's staff collected were played very strongly here -- all of them placed front-and-center on the home page.
"Election 2006"The Des Moines Register
Sent by Don Tormey, Director of Photography
Photographers toting equipment to capture photos and video covered the major candidates, the ballot initiatives and the voters at polling places, sending their work back to editors who updated galleries throughout Election Day.
Newsroom Webcast on Election NightThe
Rocky Mountain News opened its newsroom to the public on Election Night.
Interactive editor Mike Noe explains this fascinating project:
The Rocky Mountain News made history Tuesday night, producing its first live video broadcast from the newsroom starting at 7 p.m. and running past midnight.
The Rocky's number one blogger and unflappable Web host, Mark Wolf, brought reporters, political pundits and the editor on camera to discuss Colorado election results as they poured in through the night. Web producer Forrest Stewart used the electronic equivalent of what Wolf termed "spit and pop[sicle] sticks" to produce the streaming broadcast.
When Wolf wasn't in front of the camera, a second camera looked down on the Rocky's [n]ews [d]esk, where web users could watch and eavesdrop as the editor debated when to call the various races.
Users were able to comment on the video in an open chat window adjacent to the video window. The comments ranged from users chiding a reporter for not turning off his cell phone ringer to encouraging Wolf to mention his guests' names more often.
The Rocky's Web team spent a year planning for Tuesday's election. On the home page of RockyMountainNews.com, graphics showed election results updating as they fed in from the Associated Press and from University of Colorado students monitoring local issues. Another graphic showed the changing balance of power in Congress and the Colorado legislature.
A team of more than 20 people was devoted solely to updating the Web site[,] but the entire newsroom assisted in feeding stories and photos to RockyMountainNews.com.
