Photojournalistas

Val Hoeppner, manager of multimedia education at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute in Nashville, TN, talks about what it's like to be a woman in the field, and how she balances life and work. The Freedom Forum Diversity Institute is a non-profit school run by the Freedom Forum. Their goal is to diversify the newsrooms of America. Val is currently raising four children with her partner Beth.

BK: How long have you been a photojournalist?
VH: I started my first job as a photojournalist in June of 1989 at the Yankton Press and Dakotan. Since then I worked as a staff photographer, photo editor, deputy director of photography and a multimedia director.


BK: How did you get started, and why did you choose this profession?
VH: My father had an old rangefinder camera that I played with as a kid. I started taking pictures when I was 10-years-old and never stopped. I found photography allowed me to document and explain the world around me. In college I was a journalism major. I enjoyed writing and reporting but found photojournalism was a more powerful medium for me.


BK: What does a "typical" day look like for you?
VH: There is no typical day. I teach audio, photojournalism and video to student and professional journalists during one and two-week programs. Some days I work on curriculum, some days its research, some days I blog, tweet and manage our website (freedomforumdiversity.org). I travel a great deal. I spend some time each day giving feedback to students and professionals on video, photo and audio projects. Currently I am working on videos for a new website created by the Freedom Forum. I guess that is why I am never bored, my job is a little bit of everything.

On Family
BK: How do you balance family and work? Is it possible to have both and be successful?
VH: Balance is tough. Home and work balance before children meant unplugging from the computer and phone while at home. You need a hobby, a fitness routine, something that isn't journalism. In the past year my partner and I became legal guardians for our three nephews and one niece. Having four kids has meant less time for me. It often means reading the front page of the newspaper before work and reading the rest after the kids go to bed. When you have children you have to draw a strict line between family and work.


BK: Do you have to make sacrifices to have both? If so, what kind of sacrifices do you have to make, and how has that affected your family life?
VH: I have made sacrifices to have both a family and a fulfilling career. I no longer have two hours before work to bike, instead I fit in 45 minutes before the kids wake up. I have had to shave time off my lunch and socializing at work so I can be home in time to run the boys to soccer or my niece to dance. I have to focus more at work. It took me a while to understand that email, Twitter, Facebook, can be distractions. I now read email four times a day, I interact with Twitter and Facebook three times a day. It helps keep me focused on the task at hand.

When I am home and the kids are awake I unplug so I can give them all I have. As soon as they go to bed, the laptop is on and I work for another hour or two.

The hardest part for our kids is when I travel. It is hard on the kids when I am gone for two weeks at a time. They miss me, I miss them and occasionally...I miss a soccer game or school program that is important to them. It is hardest for my partner. Having four kids at home is hard work, especially when the kids are four, six, nine and 12. I know I feel guilty being gone, especially when one of the kids is sick or misbehaving and my partner has to deal with all of it alone.

BK: How has having kids AND work changed your relationship with your
partner? Are they always supportive, especially when you go out of
town? Or does it get tough?
VH:Having kids and a hectic career does put stress on my relationship with my partner. There are days when you barely speak to one another...its get the kids up, get them breakfast, dress the kids, dress yourself, off to school and work. The hard part is finding time for just the two of you.
I am extremely lucky to have a partner who is supportive of me and my work. She is passionate about her own career so it is easy for her to understand the passion I have for mine. There are times when I have to travel that I feel guilty leaving Beth and the kids, especially if one of the kids is having a tough week. When I get home I try to give Beth some time alone, the kids and I go to the park so she can unwind.

BK: What do you for childcare when you both have to work?
VH: Childcare is tough. When we are working the kids are typically in school and then after school care. My partner is a school counselor so her hours work best with the kids. There are times when we both have late meetings. One of us has to pick them all up by 6 p.m. no matter what. Sometimes we do rock, paper, scissors to see who picks up the kids.

On Work
BK: Can you tell me a little more about the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute?
VH: The Freedom Forum Diversity Institute is a non-profit school run by the Freedom Forum. Our goal is to diversify the newsrooms of America. We have five student diversity programs, all are both academic and internship programs. I run two of those programs in Nashville, I run the academic portions of all our diversity programs. I also run five multimedia boot camps in which I train journalism professionals and educators in multimedia storytelling.

BK: How did you make the transition between newspaper journalism to working there?
VH: It wasn't easy giving up the daily newspaper but working for the Freedom Forum is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I had been a volunteer instructor and mentor for Freedom Forum programs for nearly nine years before they offered me a full time job.
I think my passion for journalism and the future of journalism made the transition easy. I get to train the next generation of storytellers.

BK: What does it take to be successful in this field?
VH: It takes passion. Passion leads you to tell good stories, problem solve and keep pushing even when you are exhausted both physically and mentally.

BK: The ratio of male photographers to women photographers in the newspaper industry seems to be lopsided. Do you feel like photojournalism is a boy's club? Why or why not?
VH: Photojournalism certainly used to be a boys club. I worked on several staffs where it was me and the boys. Believe it or not there are many more women in photojournalism now that when I started. I think that is partly due to the fact that there are more female photo editors and directors of photography than ever before.
When I started the guys thought you were there to shoot lifestyles photos and the giant tomato pictures. You had to prove you could do it all. Now guys are less likely to think you are there to do the stuff they don't want to do. I think that is partly due to the success of Carolyn Cole, Cheryl Diaz Meyer and Carol Guzy.

I will admit the perception that women can't shoot sports is still out there, even though Eileen Blass from USA Today rocks the Olympics.

It comes down to leadership. If the leader of a photo department hires women, supports them and treats the staff equally the boys club does not exist.

BK: Are there advantages/disadvantages to being a woman photojournalist? Are you treated differently because you're a woman?
VH: There are advantages to being a woman in photojournalism. For one there are more situations that play to the strengths of women, than men. Women are less intimidating than men and female subjects are often more comfortable with a woman. There are also many stories that men simply cannot cover due to their gender.

The only disadvantage is that women are sometimes more vulnerable than men. I have been in some sticky situations because I am a woman, especially in the muslim/ Somali community. I have been bullied and threatened by men in a variety of situations. In each instance I stood my ground but did so with an eye toward safety.

BK: Do you have any advice for young women entering the field?
VH: Women in photojournalism are valuable members of a staff. First and foremost be confident and know that you are part of the team. Second, be a problem solver. Being able to solve your own problems is huge. Third, learn the technology. Many women think they can skate by without knowing the ins and outs of their camera, computer, Photoshop and Final Cut. Learn the technology.