The Judges for the 2007 NYPPA Year in Pictures Contest Judging

John Long, The Hartford Courant (Retired)

John Long was a photojournalist with The Hartford Courant newspaper for 35 years, filling in as a picture editor when needed. He has covered every kind of assignment from the simplest neighborhood event to natural disasters and national political events. He is noted for his coverage of homelessness issues and his artistic photographs of classical ballet.

After retiring from active shooting, he now teaches a course in photo editing at the S. I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Previously he taught a course on Issues in Journalism for five years at Manchester Community College as an adjunct.

He is a past president of the National Press Photographers Association (1989-90) and serves as Ethics Chairman for NPPA. He has lectured all over the world on photojournalism ethics, especially the ethics of digital manipulation. He has appeared on many TV shows including The News Hour and has produced his own video on ethics for NPPA.

John Long has received many awards for his photography and for his work in the field of ethics. In 2007, he received the Joseph A. Sprague Award from the NPPA, the highest award the organization offers.

He is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He taught high school English for three years before becoming a photographer. He and his wife Mary have three grown daughters. The Courant (the oldest newspaper in continuous publication in the U.S., founded in 1764) is the only newspaper for which he ever worked.

Dina Rudick, Boston Globe

Dina Rudick has worked for the Boston Globe since June, 2002. Since then, the Globe has sent her around the world several times over to cover stories ranging from the tsunami in Southeast Asia to women’s health in Haiti and Bolivia. Dina was part of John Kerry’s press corps during the 2004 election, covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, explored healthcare in Pakistan and post-war reunions in El Salvador. Dina moved to Boston from her native Ohio, where she graduated from Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication in 2002. She lives in Medford with her husband, Erik Jacobs, also a photojournalist.

Jessica Griffin, Philadelphia Daily News

Jessica Griffin is currently a staff photographer at the Philadelphia Daily News, covering general news with a concentration on gun violence in Philadelphia. Last year, Ms. Griffin received the Paul Vathis Memorial Photography Portfolio Award from the Associated Press Managing Editors. Her work has been cited for excellence by the Pennsylania Society of Journalism Keystone Awards, and the Society of Professional Journalism Awards, Philadelphia Chapter. Prior to working at the Philadelphia Daily News, Ms. Griffin worked on staff at the Philadelphia Weekly. During that time, she also freelanced for the Associated Press, and was the resident photographer for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Since 2001, Ms. Griffin has been teaching photography at Drexel University, where she has written a class emphasizing shooting techniques and basic concepts in fine art photography. As Assistant Director of the Philadelphia Conference Ms. Griffin helps support the advancement of photojournalism in the Philadelphia photo community.

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