Making the cut—part 2

I continue my interview with Sarah Weissman, who worked for many years at the New York Times as a photo editor.

At the New York Times, you had the opportunity to work in both the daily and weekly sections of the newspaper. Those must have been very different environments. Which did you prefer and why?

Sarah Weissman: The daily sections are fast moving. The days are long with lots to get through, but ultimately are exhilarating and exhausting in a satisfying way. Weekly sections are on a slower schedule, the pace more mellow, and tend to be less reactive to the events of the day. These sections, like the Week in Review, for example, where I spent 5 years on and off, require a different kind of thinking. The opportunity to be reflective suits me. Rather than putting together 15–20 stories on the days’ events, I might look through thousands of images looking for the right one to capture a moment or feeling that elevated a story from a report of the news to something more abstract.

How did story concepts begin at the paper? And, as a photo editor, what role did you play in developing them?

SW: I was very fortunate to work with people who encouraged the democratic process of ideas—if I had a decent one, I could often find a way to get it into print, in either a daily or weekly section. The same was true of anyone around—a good idea is worth pursuing, regardless of where it comes from. I found nearly endless inspiration in looking at the images transmitted daily by the news wires. There’s a story to tell from every corner of the earth. If you can get a glimpse of what’s happening somewhere, scratching the surface tends to lead to more ideas. I became interested in those ideas that explain the background of an event, or investigate deeper into the causes that led to a particular moment in time.

You mentioned once that sometimes one must ask the unexpected question to get to the underlying story. Can you share an instance where that strategy led to a great or unexpected story?

SW: News is reporting what has happened and connecting many dots to get to the point and the facts. But events are cumulative, and there often isn’t space to answer questions about why things are the way they are. I think that the background is as interesting as what just took place. For example, after 9/11 we were flooded with thousands of images pouring in from the Middle East. I wondered why women of that region wore so many different kinds of veils, which prompted me to ask a photographer to see if she could get to the bottom of the question. I was really interested to learn that women often wear the level of coverage suggested by their husband’s families. In another example, I was so moved by images of terrified, destitute and homeless Bosnian Muslims. The Serbs had moved through their homes in the former Yugoslavia. I thought about what I would grab if a thug were at my door, throwing me out of my house with a gun pointed to my face. I wanted to photograph people with their most prized possession. I found that adults had a hard time answering that question (for good reason—security and the absence of fear are hard to pin down). So, I asked a dozen photographers around the world to put the question to children. Their answers were in some cases heartbreaking, and in others, funny.

If asking the right question is the key to discovery, what’s the key to good storytelling? What role should imagery play?

SW: To me, the pictures are the story. That being said, I think the one element any story requires to be resonant with a reader is that it has emotional impact and connects on a deep level. For me, pictures do that. I think it’s also useful to consider the context in which information is presented. Pictures in a magazine, newspaper or on the web exist in the context of the headline, the caption and to me—the space within the picture.

Describe your collaborations with photographers to develop your ideas.

SW: Many photographers are filled with ideas about what they would like to shoot and how they would like to see it presented. In general, talking to people who are working on stories achieves the best collaboration because it brings both sides together. The editor has a wider perspective on other stories coming in, while the photographer is actually out in the world taking it all in. The role of an editor is in part to be the photographer’s voice in the newsroom as decisions are made at the end of the day. The challenge lies in taking the work seriously, but not taking oneself too seriously in the process.

Next week: Broadening your horizons by walking across the street