There They Go Shooting Their Mouths Off Again

Plot to Bomb Budapest Jewish Museum Foiled

Hungarian police detained a Hungarian citizen of Palestinian origin who they said had planned to blow up a Jewish museum in Budapest.

With the Marines

Philly Inquirer photographer David Swanson made some amazing pictures while embedded with the Second Battalion, Fourth Marine Regiment in Iraq over the past week.

He also filed great copy along with his photographs, including this piece about being grazed by a bullet and being very scared in a long firefight.

Looking At War

On the op/ed page of last Sunday's New York Times there was this important piece about looking at the images of war.

The public outcry after many newspapers printed grisly images of the charred bodies of American civilians in Falluja, Iraq, should have come as no surprise. Photographs are powerful, and Americans have long found it difficult to face those that capture the horror of war.

And Martha Sandweiss finishes up with this:

Those incensed by the pictures should ask themselves what is most troubling, the fact that the violence happened or that we have photographs of it? No image of war is ever as brutal as war itself.

NYT & Freelance Photogs Trade Letters

This week's PDNewswire has the latest in the contract battle between The New York Times and the freelance photographers who shoot for the paper.

Though their demands for a better contract seem to be falling on deaf ears, a growing group of New York Times freelancers are continuing to oppose what they see as a predatory contract that could have a negative impact on the industry.

Here is the contract. The photogs' letter is here. And The Times' response is here. (Note: all pdf links)

(Full Disclosure: My signature was on the letter to The Times)

PDNewswire also reports on the brief kiddknapping of a NYT news team in Iraq.

The Times reporter does a better job telling the story himself.

What Bull!

And the Winners Are...

Congratulations to all the winners of the NPPA’s “Best of Photojournalism 2004” contest, including old pals Tyler Hicks, Chris Hondros, Robert Nickelsberg, Vincent Laforet, David McNew, Aristide Economopoulos and Spencer Platt.

The National Press Photographers Association’s site is well worth a visit to see all this year’s winning still images. And they have Photojournalism on the Web awards.

The NPPA’s “The Contest Designed by Photojournalists for Photojournalists” was launched three years ago when the NPPA split with the Missouri School of Journalism over the POY (Pictures of the Year) contest. This year’s POY winners have also been announced and you can have a look at some of the images at MSNBC.

Congratulations to all the POY winners, too.

So many powerful, beautiful images and brilliant shooting all around out there no matter what the contest, if any at all.

Real Life "Sopranos" Drama

From The News:

The Long Island woman who publicly revealed her love for married mobster Peter Gotti was found dead yesterday in a motel room, apparently a suicide, police said.

And The Post:

The mistress of Gambino boss Peter Gotti was found dead yesterday less than a week after she vaulted to fame as the mobster's moll, police said.