Joint Grady College-Greenville News Project

As some of you know, we did a Maymester multimedia journalism course that was a joint project with the Greenville (S.C.) News. The News reached out to us a year ago and has been offering a lot of informational support, particularly to our multimedia classes.

The managing editor there, Chris Weston, came to me in the fall and asked about doing a project looking at water issues across the Georgia-South Carolina border. In early May, ten students started learning how to shoot video, what to shoot and were then sent out with story ideas generated by the News' staff. After a week in the field, they came back in and learned how to edit.

Weston and I planned on having the students produce five stories. This morning, the paper posted nine that the students put together.

The News loaned us three staffers for parts of the project - business reporter David Dykes, who headed up the series; chief photographer Owen Riley, who spent a day shooting with the class in South Carolina; and Adam Wickliffe, the multimedia editor, who joined Riley in Athens for the final class to help polish the stories.

I need to thank Kent for letting me put the class on the books, Conrad for his invaluable assistance and the journalism department as a whole for their support. And, of course, all the folks up in Greenville who helped put this together.

The stories and videos are online now.

Nine of them, reported, shot and edited in three weeks.

Nothing like exceeding expectations.

Why You Need to Register Your Work

Photo Attorney Carolyn Wright tells the tale of a photographer who just won a $12 million settlement for copyright infringements.

Ahem.

Can I Shoot Here? – UPDATED

The Fox affiliate in Washington, D.C., has a piece on whether you can shoot photos in Union Station. Turns out, you can - but security doesn't know that and has been harassing tourists and pros of late.

Meanwhile, Bruce Schneier at The Guardian has a column on why photographers are considered threats by government agencies.

The 9/11 terrorists didn't photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid subway bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. Timothy McVeigh didn't photograph the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The Unabomber didn't photograph anything; neither did shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Photographs aren't being found amongst the papers of Palestinian suicide bombers. The IRA wasn't known for its photography. Even those manufactured terrorist plots that the US government likes to talk about -- the Ft. Dix terrorists, the JFK airport bombers, the Miami 7, the Lackawanna 6 -- no photography.

Hit the link for his explanation.

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UPDATE: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton responds to the privatization of Union Station. Or, not.

The Long Train Ride Home

As most of you know, we just passed the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Robert Kennedy. CNN has posted a photo montage with narration by Magnum photographer Paul Fusco commenting on what he saw out the train windows.

NPR has an interview with Bill Eppridge, who made the infamous image of Kennedy lying on the floor, being held by a waiter.