Blue-Collar Witnesses to Power: The Culture of Photographers at the Associated Press

Abstract

Using 55 oral history interviews from the corporate archives, this article illuminates the group culture and identity of photographers at the Associated Press from the World War II through the Vietnam War era. The nature of the news agency made AP photographers an important interpretive community, with front-row access to news scenes like the two at the heart of this study: Vietnam and the White House. The photojournalists stood out for their blue-collar backgrounds and culture, which can be traced back to their roots as messengers and other non-reporting staffers. But the same working-class ethos manifested very differently in two very different beats. At the White House, the photographers used their “everyman” image to form intimate bonds with presidents, while at the same time risking undue deference to power. In contrast, photographers in Vietnam actively used their blue-collar credentials to escape bureaucratic conventions and expand the boundaries of photographic coverage, producing pictures that are among the most iconic of the twentieth century. While the difference in physical and organizational settings of Vietnam and the White House was significant, both cases demonstrate how the blue-collar identity of the photographers impacted their work routines and coverage.

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