Stephanie Strasburg: covering recovery and addiction in photos

I thought this was a very interesting view to hear about from Stephanie Strasburg because we have heard from reporters but not photographers. It’s hard to figure out where that line is when it comes to photography. When I’m interviewing someone, if they say something that fits with my story and what I’m covering and it’s on the record, it’s fair game. But, photography’s line isn’t quite so simple, as we found out in our class discussions as well.

Her example of building trust between her and the people she is photographing is something that can be used no matter if you’re a photographer or a reporter, and it extends beyond the bounds of just covering addiction. It extends into perhaps other sensitive topics like eating disorders and self-harm etc. Knowing your sources and recognizing that to you, this may be a story, but to them, it’s real life is so important. As journalists, we need to recognize that our stories are real and they are someone’s life and approach them as such.

Brianna Cicero

Brianna is a senior journalism major at Temple University with a concentration on Editorial Management. She is currently a Content Strategist Intern and Editor-in-Chief for Odyssey, the Editorial Director of Temple's chapter of Spoon University and the Deputy Director of Parliament Communications for Temple Student Government. This past summer, Brianna worked for her local, hometown paper, LNP and LancasterOnline, covering events and issues important to the people of Lancaster County. She is also a 2016 alumna of The Fund For American Studies' Institute on Political Journalism where she covered the 2016 election in Washington D.C for a political startup, The Stream, as well as attended briefings at publications like The Washington Post. In addition, she has previously served as a contributor for BuzzFeed, was a staff reporter for Eastern University's newspaper, The Waltonian, and was the EditorinChief of Eastern's literary magazine, Inklings. Contact Brianna at [email protected] .