If you've picked up a newspaper or magazine in the past 25 years and read a story about a big sports or news event--Super Bowl, Olympics, 9/11--the copy was most likely accompanied by a photograph by Amy Sancetta.
For the past 25 years, Sancetta has been a staff photographer for the Associated Press. Her photographs--including the one above--have not only brought illumination to major events, but added the context only pictures can. She is a true photo-journalist, one of a kind.
We interviewed Sancetta as part of our 'Innovative Journalists' series, and here is an excerpt-
How did your career evolve on the track it is on today?
Hard work, good work, being a good teammate in every situation, and impressing the photographers that I encountered along the way. I’ve had three professional jobs in my like post-college. The first summer I interned as a photographer for the Mansfield News Journal. My second was as a staff photographer for the Columbus Dispatch for 2 years. And the last as a staff photographer for the Associated Press, a job I’ve held for the last 25 years. In each instance, someone or a number of someones, recommended me for the job. Both Mansfield and Columbus knew me and my work from the stringing I did at the AP while in college. When the photo editor at the AP in Philadelphia had an opening, he took resumes, but also polled his colleagues for their recommendations. A number of AP staffers recommended me, including some I had met while working for the Dispatch covering away Ohio State football games. The photo editor called me, I applied, and I got the job. Pretty neat. I felt like my good pictures, good teamwork, and willingness to do whatever was asked of me for the job led to my getting all three of those job.
How do you feel about the industry today? When did you notice a shift in consumer habits?
It’s a scary time in our industry today. The tough economy is wreaking havoc in the newspaper world. At the same time, there is a voracious appetite for content. I think this is one of those pivotal times in our industry, when we will see a major shift in how information is passed along to the consumer. More content is being asked for, it’s just the container that’s changing.
What innovations are necessary in order to keep journalism viable? Do you have a big idea?
I think the traditional high standards of journalism will be what in the end saves the business. There are so many ways to get news these days, but very few of them are credible. I think when all the flash and glitter, the cell phone videos and blogs are washed out, that the last man standing with be the voice of record. The voice that is reliable and credible and trustworthy. So rather than looking around for some flashy way to maintain readership or viewership, I think looking back at ways to maintain high standards will separate the winners from the losers in this fight.
What ideas are being applied today that excites you about the industry moving forward?
I love photographer driven video—what I like to call little mini movies, for the web. I’ve had the chance to delve into this brand of story telling, and it’s exciting. The ability to shoot video with a photographer’s eye, and then collect audio, either live from the scene or in the voice of the players in the story being told, and then weaving that all together. It’s the best of the traditional picture story, but coming to life with sound. I love it. I think they are highly watchable, and satisfy one of the things I think I can bring to the table—sharing what I see and hear with others who can’t be right there too.
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