The Digital Journalist December 2007 Issue Contents

Dispatches: Notes from the Field
For December we have three Dispatches and an Update. Chris Hondros returns and goes to court with Iraqi prisoners, William B. Plowman looks at gang life in Gary, Indiana, and Véronique de Viguerie takes on the challenge of a story about the prostitution of young Iraqi women in Syria.

by Marianne Fulton

E-Bits: The Decisive Moment May Be A Blur
Editor Beverly Spicer writes her column this month about The Decisive Moment, and suggests that with new technology, that moment may be a blur.

by Beverly Spicer

COMMENTARY

Reading the War: Any War A Meditation

Whatever war you read about there is now more information than a person can absorb in a lifetime.

by Ron Steinman

PHOTO JOURNALISM

Tech Tips

What is the recommended user maintenance for the external weather seal of Canon "L" lenses?

by Chuck Westfall

Nuts and Bolts

It's actually cool, looks like a neutron bomb took out all the students and left all the enlargers, trays, etc. in place.

by Bill Pierce

Common Cents: Dodoesque?

Many of us started out shooting pictures for newspapers. Many freelancers raised families on revenue derived from newspaper assignments. But that's yesterday.

by Mark Loundy

Support our sponsors:

Letter from the Publisher

Welcome to the December 2007 issue of The Digital Journalist, the monthly online magazine for visual journalism.

by Dirck Halstead

BREAKING NEWS

Help Free Bilal Hussein

On the morning of April 12, 2006, Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was having breakfast in his Ramadi apartment. Suddenly heavily armed U.S. Marines burst through his door.

Of Access and Evidence: Why Bilal Hussein's Captivity Endangers Reporters and Sends a Poor Message About U.S. Intentions in Iraq

I only met Bilal Hussein once, in Ramadi, mid-September of last year, but the story he shared with me as we stood outside the bullet-pocked entryway of the Al Anbar provincial capitol building has stuck with me ever since.

by Matthew D. LaPlante

HOLIDAY BOOK LIST

Books for the Holidays

Here are some suggestions for books we like, most recently published, arranged alphabetically by title.

by Marianne Fulton

CAMERA CORNER

Nikon D300

The new Nikon D300 seems to live up to all its hype and even exceeds it in a couple of cases, especially high ISO shooting.

by Chick Harrity

"Moments in Time" Book Tour 2007

Presentations by Dirck Halstead.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcing the 2008 Platypus^TM Workshops
Because of heavy demand, we are increasing the number of workshops for 2008 to five.

NEW MEDIA

Local Media in a Postmodern World:
A Broadcaster's Christmas Carol

A gust of wind swirled around the trees in front of old Ebenezer Broadcaster's hilltop house this cold December night, scattering snow from the branches like an invisible broom sweeping dust from the attic.

by Terry Heaton

Help Support the Digital Journalist

ASSIGNMENT SHEET

Through a Lens Dimly: Ahh, the Good Old Days

Back in the days before the digital revolution occurred and even before the advent of 35mm cameras, the 4 x 5 Speed Graphic was known as the news photographer's workhorse. In use during the 40's through the 60's, these cameras were boxy looking affairs.

by Dick Kraus

A Reporter’s Life: 146 Million/ Imagine That

A man I know at the gym called to me recently as he was splashing in the pool as I was entering with, “Hey. I have a great idea for a documentary!”

by Eileen Douglas

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS