Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Chapter Sixteen Visual and Multimedia Storytelling 487 Photojournalism Photojournalism The job of the photojournalist is to transport the viewer, to take him to places he cannot or will not go. Photojournalists around the world risk their lives and sacrifi ce a great deal to allow viewers to see things that enlighten and uplift them, that anger and move them, that compel them to action. Though some freelance photojournalists work for themselves, more are employed by news organizations, which rely on them for images that tell a story in a glance. The Photojournalist’s Duty The Photojournalist’s Duty The Supreme Court made a monumental ruling in 1954 meant to end school segregation. That ruling was tested three years later in Little Rock, Arkansas, where a group of African-American high school students, now known as the Little Rock 9, attempted to integrate all-white Central High School in the face of strong opposition from the white community and local government offi cials. One of the nine, Elizabeth Eckford, did not know that the other eight were gathering to travel to school together, so Elizabeth journeyed to Central High School alone. She found herself face-to-face with an angry mob blocking the entrance to the school. But Elizabeth and the mob were not the only ones present. Photojournalist Will Counts also was there on assignment from The Arkansas Democrat. Wielding a 35mm camera that allowed him to shoot 36 frames before reloading, Counts’ camera allowed everyone in America to witness what Elizabeth faced (Figure 16.1). A 2007 Vanity Fair article titled “Through a Lens, Darkly” describes the power of Counts’ photo Few pictures capture an epoch. But in the contorted, hate-fi lled face of a young white girl named Hazel Bryan standing behind Elizabeth, screaming epithets at her, Counts encapsulated the rage of the Jim Crow South. And even behind her large sunglasses—her eyes were as sensitive as the rest of her—Elizabeth embodied something else: the dignity, and determination, and wisdom, and stoicism, with which black Americans tried to change their lot. It’s all there in one picture, in a way white America could readily understand when it landed on its front stoops. What if Counts had not photographed that moment? Would Americans have understood the anger and determination present in Little Rock? Would the president have sent federal troops to protect the Little Rock 9? We will never know. But we do know that Elizabeth Eckford’s tall, straight stance Will Counts Collection: Indiana University Archives (P0026600)0) Will Counts Collection: Indiana University Archives (P002660 Figure 16.1 Strong photojournalism transports the viewer to another place and time, helping them to understand and feel what the moment was like.