Whitney Shefte, an award-winning video journalist at Editors and Photographers Straight Talk on Hiring
Workshop Date: Thursday, March 08, 2012 - 1:30 PM
Workshop Speaker: Michel du Cille, Coburn Dukehart, Brad Horn and Jesse Neider
Approaching photo editors is rewarding and daunting. The path to getting work is building personal relationships with editors but it does not end there. What qualities are photo editors looking for in their staff and contractors? Tips for showing your portfolio and getting hired. What are the biggest mistakes to avoid when approaching photo editors? How do you separate from the pack and have editors notice you? These topics and more will be discussed to help you be successful throughout your career. Join two successful editors, Michel du Cille and Coburn Dukehart and successful freelancers Brad Horn and Jesse Neider as they share how they approach this challenging topic.
Coburn Dukehart has been the Picture and Multimedia Editor at NPR.org since 2007 - which involves everything from editing photos, videos and audio, to blogging and general newsroom logistics and magic tricks. She's worked on projects ranging from traumatic brain injury, to woman air force pilots, to running a blog about mothers-to-be called "The Baby Project." Coburn has also worked at usatoday.com and washingtonpost.com, and interned in the White House photo office. She has an MA in photojournalism from the University of Missouri, and has been recognized by the WHNPA, POYi and BOP.
Last year Coburn married fellow multimedia producer Brad Horn, and took an epic honeymoon in a psychedelic camper van to the Pacific Northwest. Best of all, their daughter Quinn was born in December - she's just about the greatest thing ever.
Michel du Cille was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Du Cille is a three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. In April 2008 he shared the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service with writers, Anne Hull and Dana Priest of The Washington Post, exposing mistreatment of wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The work evoked a national outcry, producing reforms by federal officials. He shared his first Pulitzer in spot news photography with fellow Miami Herald staff photographer Carol Guzy, on coverage of the November 1985 eruption of Colombia's Nevado Del Ruiz volcano, which caused a massive mudslide killing an estimated 25,000 people. In 1988 second Pulitzer, in feature photography, was awarded for his photo essay on crack cocaine addicts in a Miami housing project. Du Cille was appointed Assistant Managing Editor for Photography at The Washington Post in November of 2007; he joined The Post in 1988 as picture editor. His staff of the photographers, Carol Guzy, Nikki Kahn and Ricky Carioti recently won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking New Photography for their work on the Haiti earthquake and subsequent aftermath. In 2005 he was an associate editor working primarily as a project photojournalist until his appointment as AME/Photography. His current title is Director of Photography.
He joined The Miami Herald's photography staff in 1981 after internships at The Louisville Courier Journal/Times in 1979 and The Miami Herald in 1980. Du Cille began his career in photojournalism while in high school working at The Gainesville (GA) Times. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at Indiana University School of Journalism and holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University.
Brad Horn is a public radio and multimedia journalist. His audio pieces have aired nationally on NPR, and his photo, video, and multimedia work has appeared on NPR.org, MediaStorm.com, and in the AARP Bulletin. He received his Master’s in Multimedia Storytelling from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He now lives in Washington, DC with his wife and daughter. He’s just another American dude. No more, no less.
Jesse Neider is a freelancer whose clients include The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NPR, and Inc. Magazine, will discuss how he has built his career by focusing on personal projects and fostering relationships with clients. Using specific case studies, Jesse will emphasize how staying committed to your personal style can strengthen your reputation and help bring in new clients.
