Hiding in the surf behind the disabled assault vehicle as Capa did represented just one option at that juncture. The battle had already begun to move off the beach and up the ridge; Capa could have followed the action and gone along. After all, that’s why LIFE had given him this highly coveted front seat. […]
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Donald Winslow wrote recently in a May 11 Facebook post, “Investigative journalism is a lifetime of uncovering other people’s and government’s lies.” This from the editor of the official journal of the National Press Photographers Association who commissioned a feature article dismissive of our research, violating every tenet of journalistic ethics regarding full disclosure and conflict of interest by publishing the result in “News Photographer.” This man has no shame; his hypocrisy truly knows no bounds. […] Without exception, the recipients of the 2014 Society of Professional Journalists Awards exemplify the real deal. On major and minor platforms, in print and broadcast and online media, as staff or freelance/independent, they pursued issues they considered important, undertook investigations that sometimes lasted for months, often made enemies, but challenged authority, separated hard fact from self-serving fiction, and spoke truth to power. The award to us takes it as a given that we belong among them, as equals and colleagues. Speaking for the team, we cherish that association above all. […] Capa’s two photos have become iconic images symbolizing inertia, fear and even the failure of nerve of the common soldier on the beaches of Normandy. What a travesty that these men who made decisive contributions to the success of the campaign, despite every danger and hindrance, should have become poster boys for lack of resolve under fire. And all as the result of a caption that told the wrong story. […] Since Capa himself provided no notes for his D-Day images, captioning them was left to those who had never witnessed an amphibious assault, much less the Omaha Beach landings. When LIFE’s editors added a caption that was accurate in the macro sense — but wholly inaccurate for that particular scene — they condemned this photo to misreading for decades to come. […] |
 SPJ Research Award 2014 |