WHNPA Video Photojournalist of the Year Bethany Swain joins the NSC faculty

Bethany Swain has been a photojournalist for CNN for more than six years. From covering the political conventions to spending 22 days embedded with Gov. Palin’s campaign,  Swain played an active role in the network’s America Votes 2008 coverage.

Since 2002, Swain has been a versatile member of CNN’s team.  In addition to capturing the political process, Swain also has travelled to Afghanistan to shoot, write and edit stories on NATO troops on the ground, as well as to the Bahamas and Florida to cover the aftermath of Anna Nicole Smith’s death.

In Dec. 2007, Swain launched the award-winning In Focus series, a collection of natural sound stories crafted by CNN photojournalists on a variety of topics, including the spirit of giving and veterans issues. Swain’s shooting and editing also has received praised from the White House News Photographer’s Association.

Before coming to CNN, Swain worked in a number of  local news newsrooms, including WPTZ in Vermont, WJAR in Rhode Island and NewChannel 8 in Washington.

Swain graduated from the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, where she worked as both station manager and chief photographer at ICTV, the college television station. During high school in Burlington, Vermont, Swain produced her own documentary as well as interned at a local cable access station.

Swain is the first female recipient of the WHNPA’s Video Photographer of the Year Award in the association’s history.