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Award-Winning Photojournalists to Conduct "First on the Scene" Seminar
(Posted: August 10, 2006) (Printable Version)
Two photojournalists who recorded for history the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States will conduct a seminar titled “First on the Scene: Journalism and Trauma Seminar” from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Sept. 7 in the Reynolds Room of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith.
Award-winning photojournalists David Handschuh and Gulnara Samoilova will offer commentary on their Sept. 11 coverage as many of their award-winning photos, including those nominated for 2002 Pulitzer prizes, are projected onto a large screen. They will also discuss how their Sept. 11 coverage has impacted their professional careers and personal lives during the past five years.
The free seminar is sponsored by Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine in conjunction with the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. It follows an opening reception scheduled for noon Sept. 7 of “Five Years from Ground Zero — Though the Lens of the Photojournalist,” an exhibit at UA Fort Smith that includes numerous photographs taken during the Sept. 11 attack and in the days following it.
The presentation by Handschuh and Samoilova is geared to those in the region who are in the ranks of the working news media, to first responders and to journalism students in area high schools and in the University of Arkansas System schools. The public is welcome to attend as well.
Handschuh was a staff photographer for the “New York Daily News” for more than 18 years and nearly lost his life at Ground Zero. In 1994, he co-authored the “National Media Guide for Emergency and Disaster Incidents,” which is now in its third printing.
He continues to serve as a liaison between public safety providers and the media on a national level. Handschuh spent months during his physical recovery implementing new programs to address long-term physical and mental health issues of journalists who covered Ground Zero. For that work, he was awarded the highest honor bestowed by Sigma Delta Chi, the National Society of Professional Journalists.
A three-time Pulitzer nominee, he has also established and continues to support Peer Counseling Workshops, where members of the industry are trained to assist fellow journalists. He has spoken to numerous groups of journalists and first responders, including firefighters at a national Fire Department Instructors Conference.
Samoilova, also a Pulitzer nominee, is a Russian-born international photojournalist who has shot for numerous news organizations, including the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Zuma Press. She has also served as a photo editor for international events, including the 2002 Winter Olympics and the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000.
Samoilova’s photos have been featured in “Time,” “People,” “New York,” “Marie Claire” and other major magazines around the world. She was awarded nationally and internationally for her photographs from Sept. 11, including first prize in the World Press Photo contest “People in the News” singles division for her photograph of survivors of the World Trade Center collapse.
Now a U.S. citizen living in New York City, Samoilova continues documentary photography projects in both Russia and the United States.
In addition to photographs taken by Handschuh and Samoilova, the UA Fort Smith exhibit will also include photographs taken by numerous other photographers and photojournalists from around the United States. Also a part of the exhibit are copies of articles written by journalists from around the country, a TV video from Sept. 11, and other artifacts.
A series of photographs, then and now, taken by Associated Press photographers, will be a part of the exhibit from Sept. 1 through Sept. 13. Also on display at the UA Fort Smith exhibit, which will hang until Sept. 29, are photos taken by Carmen Taylor from Lavaca, Ark., who was a tourist who took photos of the jetliner hitting the south tower on Sept. 11 and who originated the idea for the UA Fort Smith exhibit. Stacey Jones, UA Fort Smith’s associate vice chancellor for campus and community events, has spearheaded UA Fort Smith’s development of the exhibit. He said Taylor has worked with UA Fort Smith tirelessly to make the exhibit come about.
Exhibit hours are 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Fridays. The exhibit is located on the west end of the first floor of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center and encompasses wall space outside the Reynolds Room.
Other activities planned for September include a remembrance concert, featuring UA Fort Smith and community musicians. It is planned for 7 p.m. Sept. 11 on the Campus Green. In addition, David Friend, creative development editor with Vanity Fair magazine, will come to the UA Fort Smith campus on Sept. 29 for a noon book signing of his book, “Watching the World Change,” and a 2 p.m. lecture. The book signing will be held in the university’s Campus Store. The lecture is in the Reynolds Room of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center. All events are open to the public. Friend will also do a book signing at Books-A-Million on Sept. 30.
Register by Sept. 1 for the “First on the Scene” seminar by emailing lynnwasson@efortsmith.com or contacting Linda Seubold or Lynn Wasson at 479-494-1888. For more information on the UA Fort Smith exhibit, call the Campus and Community Events Office at 788-7300.
| Article by: Sondra LaMar, Director of Public Relations |
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