Photojournalism Program Featured in National Photo District News Magazine
School’s Hands-On Learning Approach and Top Photo Facilities Highlighted in the Article
By Annie Rees
Columbia, Mo. (Nov. 17, 2015) — The photojournalism program at the Missouri School of Journalism is one of three featured in the fall 2015 issue of Photo District News (PDN) for its training of students to enter the highly competitive photojournalism field.
The award-winning monthly magazine for the professional photographer covers a variety of topics, from marketing and business advice to legal issues, photographic techniques, new technologies and more. Other programs featured were the University of California-Berkley Graduate School of Journalism and the International Center of Photography in New York City.
The full-page overview of the School’s photojournalism program highlights the Missouri Method of hands-on training in professional, community-based news outlets.
“Having the Missouri Photojournalism recognized in PDNedu is a terrific opportunity to help others understand the exceptional nature of the program,” said David Rees, chair of the photojournalism program.
There were two pieces on the photojournalism program in the magazine: the first, a page-long profile of Rees’ teaching and photojournalistic career; and the second, a more general overview of the photojournalism program at the Missouri School of Journalism.
The overview provided readers a sense of the Missouri Method style of learning by doing but also the photo facilities at the School. These were renovated in 2011 to include the new Cliff and Vi Edom Lab photo lab and the gallery of the McDougall Center, a space which enables the Center to display work in the McDougall Archive and from partner Missouri programs such as MPW, POYi and CPOY.
The Lab is equipped with the latest video editing software, high-end digital printers, a video recording room with a green screen and an equipment checkout locker. Space is allocated for a legacy darkroom, an audio recording room and video editing bays, which will be added as the Center reaches its financial goals.
The article spoke with Roxana Pop, MA ’14, who praised the opportunities that MPW, POYi, CPOY and guest-speakers provide.
“A great thing about being a Mizzou student is that you ‘grow up’ by these great events organized by the school,” Pop said in the magazine. “If you are smart enough to understand that early during the program, then you can learn a lot just by being there.”
Graduates from the photojournalism program work at National Geographic, The Washington Post and the Tampa Bay Times, among many other news outlets across the country.
“We have incredibly talented and passionate students and an extremely strong faculty with diverse and extensive expertise, who daily, weekly – always – collaborate with our students,” Rees said. “It makes for a creative and supportive learning environment.”
Updated: September 14, 2020