Pasadena Independent – Beacon Media Inc – New Photo Editor Announced
By Terry Miller
Published: Friday, July 30th, 2010
Santa Barbara artist Fred Borcher's depiction of Terry Miller circa 1991
By Terry Miller
In last week’s issue, I made a hurried and rather disjointed attempt – albeit on deadline – at introducing myself to our communities as the new photo editor of our newspaper group. I, now, will endeavor to be somewhat more succinct.
Beacon Media News Publisher, Von Raess, has just elected yours truly to the aforementioned position after former editor John Stephens left the company last week for ventures new.
Many of you may know me as the photographer for the paper(s). For the past 11 years I have photographed so many people and events in the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles County that I have literally gone through thousands of rolls of film, numerous camera bodies and now have about 6 massive hard drives storing a vast collection of digital images.
The photography aspect of my position will not change, as it is not only my passion but also I truly believe I’d not be recognized without a couple of cameras swinging around my neck. It, I believe (photojournalism) is a calling
I’d like to give you a brief background on my associations with newspapers and why I’m so passionate about the printed page.
As many of you know, I’m a British subject.
My family immigrated to the United States in the mid-1960′s. We boarded the RMS Queen Mary at Southampton in May of 1965. From there we sailed to Cherbourg and ultimately docked in New York 5 days later.
My father had just been promoted to Foreign Correspondent from the London desk of a major British daily newspaper, The Daily Telegraph to the New York bureau – hence the reason we were sailing off to this brave new and exciting world.
It was, without question, the single most incredible journey of my life.
It was an experience, quite unlike any other. It literally changed the direction in which my life would flow.
My dear mother managed to save this Queen Mary passenger manifest after all these years .
The cabin crew aboard the RMS Queen Mary treated every passenger with the respect usually reserved for Royalty – Naturally, my young brother Colin and I took more than full advantage of all the attention until we started hitting rough weather.
The RMS Queen Mary, you see, had no stabilizers and a rough Atlantic crossing could mean at great deal of sick passengers and a huge task for the pursers and cabin crew.
The day the storm hit, probably half way across the Atlantic, there were hundreds of really sick people who needed attention. Opportunity knocks for the Miller brothers. There was ample time to explore this massive beast without parental supervision. My poor mother was already sea-sick and trying to take care of my baby sister Mandy and my Dad, Henry Miller, was hobnobbing with other Brits moving to the United States in the famous Observation “Deck” (which we found out years later was, in fact, the Observation Bar and most popular speakeasy aboard the historic majestic ocean liner).
I remember my brother and I relishing in the fact that this massive Royal Mail Ship Queen Mary was being tossed from side to side and up and down like a toy boat. Not many others were quite so eager to enjoy such high seas adventures.
As the ship’s staff hurriedly attended to the ship tossing and passengers’ stomachs turning, my brother and I decided it was time to explore the first class area of the ship…our intended target – the first class swimming pool which was incredible. There was a ghost story attached too, about someone who allegedly drowned there. Some say you can hear her screams…The only screams we heard were coming from each others lungs as we plunged into pure excitement for having a giant pool all to ourselves.
The glorious 1930′s art deco pool was empty, we had the whole giant magic pool to ourselves, the water was splashing out of the pool, talk about fun. This was better than any Disneyland ride could ever be.
Attempting to eat dinner on the chained down tables during the storm(s) was a great challenge not only for passengers but moreover for the staff that had to cook and serve these gourmet meals. The food and waiters would literally fall from side to side and barely manage to get the plates near the table edge.
What has all this has to do with journalism one might ask? We’ll actually, everything, at least to me.
Shortly after we arrived in New York, my dad was being rushed off to points unknown to cover a breaking news story. One year in particular caught my attention. It was 1968. My dad was sent to Memphis and then Los Angeles. Within a few months of on another both Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated.
After John Kennedy’s assassination 1n 1963, a certain innocence left the collective American consciousness. And in 1968 some would say all hell broke loose. It was indeed a radical time of change. The staggering horrors of the war in Vietnam were utmost in peoples’ minds – thanks to images transmitted not only on the television but still images.
In fact, still images may have played a major role in stopping the war. Who can forget that famous Eddie Adams photograph of an execution of or my friend and local AP photographer and Pulitzer Prize winner Nick Ut’s photo of the little girl running from the napalm attack where she and many other children were so badly burned. Photographer Eddie Adams once said to Nick Ut that it was “You and me Nicky…,we ended the war.” I cannot think of two more powerful and thoughtful photographers who changed public perception of the horrors of the Vietnam war.
The 1960′s was an amazing period in history, especially for journalists. I got the bug early. From being in the background and hearing first hand stories of what it was like to be in the courtroom when Charles Manson made his first appearance in front of the judge, snarling at those present while flaunting the swastika etched into his forehead. From hearing about how a contact my father made with an FBI agent helped him get a few hours lead on the Patty Hearst story. These and countless other major news stories that hooked me on newspapers.
In the middle of the 19th century, people began referring to the press as a fourth estate, referencing the fact that most parliaments and other houses of government had an area set aside specifically for the use of the press, and pointing out that the press was a distinct group within the larger framework of the realm. Edmund Burke is said to have referenced the fourth estate when discussing the French Revolution, and Thomas Carlyle, a 19th century writer helped the term become a common term.
Getting a little too close to the action - Miller was hosed down by HazMat crew after being contaminated with a rocket fuel while covering a train derailment in in 1991 - Miller became part of the news for several days as the story unfolded
The press plays a vital role in most societies, reporting on a wide variety of topics, providing an enormous amount of information and commentary and presenting it all with images ( still and/or moving pictures). Thomas Carlyle pointed out that the press played a commanding role in parliamentary procedure, often influencing the outcome of elections. This is obviously still true today.
Carlyle also argued that the press was an important part of a democratic society, saying that writing gives people “a tongue which others will listen to.”
Journalists are careful not only to protect the integrity of the press and sources, but also try to clarify complex situations and ideas. We shall attempt to do the same albeit on a smaller scale with our papers and websites.
I believe, despite my late father’s submission that I not get into the business, that it was a sort of providence that propelled me into this marriage of words images and words. While I didn’t focus on international news, I set my sights on California regional news while maintaining a healthy interest in foreign affairs.
My initial introduction to the world of news images was while working for the Associated Press photo library at Rockefeller Center in New York. That job quickly lost its gloss as I wanted to be the guy shooting the pictures, not filing the 8 x 10 images of others. I was studying the images for too long, asking why and how the particular photographer did what he/she did at that moment. My boss at the time realized I was too interested in the images and suggested I start shooting instead of filing.
I soon found myself working in Santa Barbara for a newspaper that served the Goleta Valley. That company evolved into a group of community newspapers covering events from Gaviota to Carpinteria.
Eventually, the very popular South Coast Community Newspaper chain in Santa Barbara County went bust and I found myself in a role as chief photographer for Pulitzer’s Times Press Recorder in Central California – we were all black and white and darkroom based. I spent a lot of time in the darkroom breathing in developer and fixer.
We had computers, but they were not the best. Digital imaging was still very expensive – I think the first digital worth its salt was around $20,000 and was less than 1 megapixel. The unit was extremely heavy and clumsy.
In 1998 I married a local Sierra Madre native. Her family has strong roots in the area and it seemed logical that I move to the big city. Within a short space of time I was shooting pictures and occasionally writing the odd piece for the Arcadia Weekly which has since grown to 5 area community newspapers, one of which you are now reading.
My new position as editor is a challenge I welcome and hope to do justice to the position for the community at large. I’ll still be out and about with my trusty Nikon’s swinging around my neck trying to cover as much as possible and I’ll be voicing opinions and observations now and again.
Things have changed a great deal from my father’s watch as crime reporter on Fleet Street and then foreign correspondent in New York. Gone are the carrier pigeons that used to deliver photographers’ film back to the darkroom technician. Gone are the teletype machines with all their glorious musical chatter. Gone are the electric typewriters and correction tape. Unfortunately gone too are the massive newsrooms that once existed with bureaus on every corner of the earth. Ours is not a dying profession as many have projected. Simply, it has evolved into a more streamlined form of communication allowing us a greater reach at greater speed. Printed newspapers will never cease to exist, if I have anything to say about the matter.
While the tools have changed, the concepts have not.
I encourage each of our readers to submit articles/suggestions for articles or community calendar items. We’ll publish as much newsworthy information as we can and hope to keep our fingers on the pulse of each city we serve. However we need your input. Let me know how we’re doing, what you’d like to see and what we can do to better serve our community within the confines of the newspaper.
In coming months I’d like to profile individuals in each community that have made a difference. I welcome submissions.
Please feel free to contact me at the newspapers – email is best: tmiller@beaconmedianews.com and let me know how we, your Community Newspapers, can better inform our neighbors of what makes the city tick!
Please drop me a line:
tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
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