NEW YORK (AP) - Ann Hermes, a Brooklyn-based photographer, has taken a unique approach to documenting the fading legacy of local journalism in the United States. Her project, which has brought her camera into over 50 newsrooms, reveals the reality behind the façade of a glamorous journalist's life. One particular image captures sports reporter Tom Haley at his desk in The Rutland Herald newsroom on a winter day in Rutland, Vermont. The photograph showcases Haley in ill-fitting khakis and a baseball cap, surrounded by cluttered piles of notebooks and reports, illustrating the stark contrast between the romanticized view of journalism and its gritty reality.
Hermes is drawn to subjects that evoke nostalgia or chronicle moments in time that are on the verge of being lost. She has previously documented the last Morse code station in North America and department store photo booths. Her current focus on newsrooms highlights the struggles faced by local news organizations due to the industry's steady decline over the past few decades. Tragically, one of the newspapers she photographed in Alameda, California, has already shut down.
Despite her background as a journalist for the Christian Science Monitor, Hermes did not foresee this project becoming her passion. "I love these spaces," she reflects. She finds satisfaction in spending time with the people in these environments, and as she learned more about their challenges, her motivation shifted. "The more time I spent in newsrooms and hearing about their difficulties of life, it took on a different agenda," she explains.
Her photographs challenge the misconception that journalism is a prestigious profession filled with elitist individuals. Instead, they depict harried workers in disheveled surroundings, showcasing the chaos of improvised workspaces. Items such as Post-it notes, pens, and neglected bottles of antacids are common features in these images, emphasizing the reality of journalists' lives. The New Yorker’s Zach Helfand observes that newsrooms are often poorly designed and improvised, reflecting the hectic nature of journalistic work where deadlines loom.
The photographs also capture the omnipresent newspapers that are increasingly less visible in a world shifting towards digital media. Hermes includes images of aging newspapers stuffed in cubby holes or stacked precariously—symbols of a journalistic archive that risk being forgotten. Inside newspaper "morgues," valuable historical records languish in cardboard files, highlighting a deep connection to community memories and the passing of time.
Hermes characterizes her work as a love letter to local journalism, arguing that it’s not intended to criticize but to celebrate the "true believers" who continue to dedicate themselves to this challenging profession. "The rewards are diminishing in doing this job," she notes, pointing to the frustrations journalists face from civic leaders and the business realities driving colleagues away from the field. "You have to really believe in the fundamental civic service that you are providing. Otherwise, why else would you do it?" she asks rhetorically.
Her portfolio is showcased on her website, and she harbors ambitions of compiling her newsroom photographs into a book. Hermes aspires to raise awareness about the necessity of local journalism through exhibitions in the communities she has visited, reinforcing the importance of these institutions in society. Her goal is to photograph 100 newsrooms, expressing a desire to learn something new with each visit.
