Re: [Leica] College

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

The truth? DO NOT MAJOR IN PHOTOJOURNALISM. DO NOT MAJOR IN JOURNALISM.

Get yourself a real education. Major in political science. Major in
history. Major in a foreign language.  Major in sociology. Get some
worthwhile background in something. Take all the photo and related
journalism courses you can as electives.Go join the staff of the student
paper the day you get to school. See if there are local papers you can
string for. And start applying early for summer internships at
newspapers and magazines.

I offer this advice as someone who did end up majoring in journalism -
but ended up with an equal number of hours in political science and took
every American History course my university offered. I also offer this
advice after spending 23 years in daily journalism - as a reporter and
editor - and as someone who now teaches both news writing and
documentary photography at MIT - which, needless to say, does NOT have a
journalism major or department.

And to those who will tell you that you will get a great job if you only
go to Missouri, or Syracuse - do some research and see what you can find
out about how many contract photographers for Time, Newsweek, or
National Geographic, went to those schools or majored in PJ...Or how may
of the staffers at The New York Times, The Washington Post, or any of
the other major papers took that route.

Want to be a photojournalist? Go take pictures. Every day. Of every kind
of subject. Take photo courses and master the technical end of things.
Take a good photo history course and a couple of good art history
courses.

BUT DON'T MAJOR IN PHOTOJOURNALISM...

And good luck!

B. D.

Majoring in journalism, or, Godforbid, photojournalism, is the
equivalent of going to college and paying $120,000 to major in plumbing
for four years.

ShadCat11@aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 07/23/2001 12:51:12 PM, you wrote:
> 
> <<Ok I have a quick one for you, and though it isn't directly leica related
> its close enough.  I know that some of you arn't professional photographers
> but those of you who are and have formal training in photography I would
> like your input.
> 
> I have to go to my college counselor today and Im guessing that he will ask
> me If I have any preferences of the colleges I want to go to.  I asked the
> photographers at my local newspaper and they gave me a list of a few
> colleges but no decisive best college for photojournalism.  I have heard a
> lot about University of Missouri in the past but have also heard that they
> have been slipping.  So for the question: What is the best college for
> photojournalism (not studio stuff)?
> 
> Thanks,
> David Degner
> 
> >>
> 
> While my training in photography was informal, I have been doing it
> seriously/professionally for a very long time, during the course of which I
> have associated with many formally trained photograpers in different fields
> and have taught classes, myself.
> 
> My opinions, based on the before, is that a systematic course of study can
> save some time in learning the craft and techniques.  But I also believe that
> a good liberal arts education NOT specializing in photography can do more for
> your ability to master photojournalism than concentrating on the tech stuff.
> 
> It's not rocket science.  The chops can be picked up readily enough, but a
> really good photographer operates from a sensibility that encompasses
> information from every direction; history, languages, psychology, science,
> name it.  Specializing in photography trains a person to be a shooter,
> considered glamorous by some but not me.
> 
> One of the better photojournalists of my acquaintance is Amy Sanchetta (last
> seen at AP), whose work is invariably probing, insightful, sensitive, tough
> and pictorially, quite elegant.  When asked by her admirers (well, my wife
> and I) about her education, Amy remarked that she stayed away from her
> college photography department.  This, of course, is only one approach, and
> many graduates of photography programs have done well.  But photojournalism
> is involved (or should be) in so much more than photography.
> 
> Two photographers were discussing their day.  One said "I saw a bundle of
> rags on a park bench, and it turned out to be an old lady.  She told me that
> once she had been an heiress, but the family lost all its money and
> eventually she became just another poor homeless person."
> "Poor woman," said the other.  "What did you give her?"
> "Well, " came the reply, "It was sunny, so I gave her 1/250th @ f16."
> 
> Allen Zak
>