In The Armies of the Night (1968), his “nonfiction novel” about the Vietnam War, Norman Mailer made himself a central protagonist. Far from being defensive about this radical breach of journalistic convention, he advocated personalized reportage with gusto. “I … Read more
In November 2017, Los Angeles Times staff writer Thomas Curwen noticed an email subject line that intrigued him: UCLA linguist seeking to awaken the sleeping language of the Tongva – LA’s indigenous people. The email — a story pitch … Read more
If you have taken a picture and shared it with no text, or studied a news image to see if it was “real,” or wondered if “photography” is an accurate term for the digital wave overwhelming and manipulating our … Read more
Before humans learned to write, they documented their lives through images with technologies fashioned from materials at hand. To create the renowned galleries of animals — objects of fascination, dreams of conquest — in the Lascaux Cave, painted … Read more
On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was killed by police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. In the car with Castile at the time of the shooting were his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and … Read more
Every August when I was young, my mother would take me to the store to buy some back-to-school notebooks. Maybe some pencils. Sometimes even a plastic pencil sharpener. This was a long time ago, but I still remember how … Read more
“In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London.” “The only place in London where you can talk to people, and there is a … Read more
When Mexican director Guillermo del Toro won his best directing Oscar recently for “Shape of Water,” he said: “I am an immigrant. The greatest thing our art does is to erase the lines in the sand. We should continue doing … Read more
The fog of war is especially thick in Syria, where access is nearly impossible for foreign journalists and accounts of the war often reach the outside world via social media. In the besieged Eastern Ghouta region, a blond, baby-faced teenager … Read more
For Dena Takruri, the power of journalism rests on its ability to give voice to the voiceless. “I’ve always been upfront about my identity and background, and it’s shaped who I am and the lens through which I see other … Read more
