Ami Vitale: belief

Transcript context

…If you couldn’t get a job at first, how is it you were hired? How did that happen? Oh, it was because it was in the world of that shift from film to digital where I could send in pictures, and very often people thought I was a man. In the beginning, I was able to do the work that I do because people didn’t really know that I was a woman. I would always get letters back, “Dear Sir.” In the beginning, a lot of people told me I didn’t belong there. I shouldn’t be there. I’m so proud that we’ve made a great change in the last 20 years. We still have a ton of work to do, but I think that in today’s world, there are probably more female photographers and journalists out there graduating from schools than there are men. I’m glad about that because it changes the way the world looks, but we need to work harder to make it more equitable for a lot more diversity coming out of journalism school right now. You must meet plenty of young photographers. Obviously, you look at their photographs. But when you meet them, think about them, what are the non-obvious qualities you look for, for who could be important? Obviously, they should have a good work ethic, but what would be non-obvious? What gets you excited?…

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