One day while I was on assignment for The Cape Times in South Africa I got a call from my editor to head North towards Wynberg.When I arrived I was to take a portrait of Jonathan Cherry, founder of a website called Cherryflava. We toyed around with some ideas and came up with an image of Cherry sitting in the bowling alley where he and his partner did most of their brainstorming.

A few days later, a front page feature was born.

My college paper the Daily Cal is running a feature piece tomorrow on Cal men’s swimmer Sean Mahoney. Our beat writer for men’s swimming, Christina Jones, penned the piece. I took the accompanying portrait earlier this week at Spieker Pool on campus.

On New Year’s Eve I photographed Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at the Independent in San Francisco. I posted one image from the show (taken post-midnight) for day one of my 365 day photo challenge. To check out a few more, visit Live Daily or the Independent’s photo galleries.

By the time yesterday evening had rolled around, my feet were heavy from walking. I had spent ten hours roaming around campus snapping shots while a crowd of UC Berkeley students protested the proposed 32% tuition increase. Friday was the final day of a three day protest against free hikes and budget cuts. Meanwhile the UC Regents meeting on the UCLA campus was met by student protests.

Question (which seems an odd one to pose here): What’s the point of being able to blog by phone if a quick and dirty service like Twitter exists? Is this really the medium by which to compose a blog post? After all, blog posts are the more thoughtful alternative to “status updates.” Just some late-night ponderings.

As an entertainer, Jackson was the whole package. Stars have tried to follow his lead since, but Jackson was an accomplished entertainer and future performers have a tall order to follow. Jackson stayed in the public’s consciousness for decades, even after public scandals and accusations of child molestation, because his talent was undeniable. Knowing how to Moon Walk is still awe-inspiring and the world still has a cult obsession with the star. (The last few days are evidence.)

The New Yorker wrote a piece on Jackson’s death this week with an accompanying image, of course. The picture looks alien with blocky features and big vacant black eyes. If only … if only … the had been world a kinder place.

Here’s to MJ.

The comment traffic on the story, though still minimal, mostly blasts the Times for selling out or sacrificing quality coverage due to their recent financial hardships. But neither of those concerns get what this story is about.

1. The Bush administration did not allow the Times the same access to the White House. (Remember the “liberal media” was trying to take down the GOP.)
2. The Obama administration is being accused of being too transparent with media outlets? (Feels a bit like an SNL Weekend Update with Seth & Amy. Really, Politico? Really!?!)

So what’s the problem here? The most valid claim this article makes is that the Obama administration might be pandering to the Times. As long as The New York Times is allowed access to the White House, I hold out some hope that professionals journalists will be able to dig through political spin and find out the Truth. Increased access is not a bad thing.

From where I sit, it just looks like Politico’s jealous that they’re not getting the inside scoop in their own city.

The tone of the conversation about the impending transformation of the new industry has changed from one of despair and fear, to one of hope, in just one year. I attended conferences just last year during which professionals talked about the “demise of print journalism” and the possible end of news. But in just a few months, the conversation has changed to one of hope. Professionals are looking for a new way to conceive of “news.” What a relief! Though I knew it wasn’t true, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed.

So during the workshop today, we talked about the difference between news and media and the importance of distinguishing what qualifies as “news.” Are journalists the utmost authorities on their stories? And are journalists the only people who produce news? This change in mentality over the last year, this hope, is encouraging for journalists, young and old. 

I went home to Washington, D.C. for winter break and got to see first hand as the city made the last few preparations for the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20th. Posters flew up announcing events and the iconic image of Obama by Shepard Fairey. Every magazine had an image of the President-elect on the cover. This was a historic occasion, but in all my years living in D.C. I never saw as much hype and anticipation for the transition of office.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists flocked into the city in the days preceding the inauguration to be part of the occasion and try to catch a glimpse of Obama on the jumbotrons scattered around the Washington Mall.

I attended both the "We Are One" concert at the Lincoln Memorial and the inauguration two days later. Everywhere I turned there were tourists. Chaos could very well have broken out during the festivities, but, to the best of my knowledge, nothing like that happened. MPs who blocked off streets during the concert posed for pictures with civilians. Firefighters who stood atop fire trucks took photographs on attendees’ cameras.

As I walked through the crowd toward the Lincoln Memorial on the day of the concert, I saw an MP holding a video camera, and, for a second, it looked as though he were videotaping the crowd for military purposes. To record faces? But, a second later he handed the camera away and picked up another. Filming for people standing on the ground. What a heartwarming moment it was.

Before the panel started, AP showed short video that included a number of images, including one of Truman holding up a copy of the Chicago Daily Tribune the day he won the seat of president that reads “Dewey Defeats Truman” and other images that show a human, vulnerable quality in our presidents—current and past.The online collection for “The American President” includes an image of Chief of Staff Andy Card telling George W. Bush of the September 11th attacks during the president’s visit to an elementary school.

A true snapshot of American history.