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Investigative reporting is a long and patient business, as shown in Kristen Chick's work for CJR about abuses in the world of photojournalism. Nearly three years ago, Kristen began work on her first story for CJR about the scope and scale of sexual harassment at the top ranks of photojournalism. In that meticulously reported piece, which we headlined "Photojournalism's moment of reckoning," Kristen talked to more than fifty people over five months and provided the most extensive accounting yet of the decades of abuse in an industry that had escaped attention, despite the #MeToo wave sweeping media. She showed how a field dominated by men used workshops and mentorships to prey on younger, female photographers.
Last month, Kristen returned with the second part of her investigation, this time focusing on one of photojournalism’s best-known figures, Magnum Photos' David Alan Harvey. In that piece, "Magnum's moment of reckoning," Kristen talked to eleven women who described inappropriate behavior involving the star photographer over more than a decade. Kristen’s reporting also showed how questions surrounding Harvey had been flagged to Magnum more than a decade before the agency, this fall, finally suspended him.
This week, Magnum announced that it was launching an independent investigation into the issue raised by the CJR report and encouraged women named in the story, and others, to come forward. “This has been a difficult and upsetting time for women in the photography industry, and for all those involved in Magnum,” the statement read. “We are fully committed to supporting a full and independent investigation, and to seeing through whatever changes are needed to create a new welcoming and inclusive culture for all those who work for and with Magnum.” Reading Kristen’s work is both sobering and enraging. But it is also important, and it is a critical part of CJR’s mission as a watchdog of journalism.
––Kyle Pope, editor and publisher
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