9th Wonder of the World: The AP

(Lori King photos from top:  AP photo desk, the KSU group touring AP, and a cool photo of a woman holding a dress in the subway)

Today we toured the 9^th Wonder of the Journalism World.

On the 14^th floor at 450^th W. 33^rd St. in Manhattan is the Associated Press, the largest continuous newsroom in the world.

I was particularly excited to walk through the center of the newsroom because it’s this very organization that gave me my big break in the news business. After graduating from Kent State in 1991, I moved to Toledo and was the sole AP stringer for northwest Ohio for 4 years.

Back then I developed B&W film in my apartment bathroom and then transmitted photos using the AP Leafax 35, the first portable negative scanner and transmitter. I had to drive to Detroit if I wanted to transmit color images. What separated us from the average photographer was not only skill in shooting B&W film but more importantly the knowledge of how to use the Leafax. It was in the AP office, so I had to be specially trained by the AP correspondent.

Now, photographers use digital DSLRs that shoot both still and video. Within seconds our images travel around the world and readers look at them on their iPhones, iPads and Kindles.

Has the news changed? Sally Buzbee, deputy managing editor for AP’s Nerve Center, reassured us today that AP news values are still strong and in demand. She said consumers will always want news, but interactivity and visual storytelling will be more important in the future.

Actually, I think strong visual storytelling is important right now.

I can’t say this enough - education (particularly in ethics), experience and trust is what separates news organizations from the social media like bloggers, tweeters and photographers who just bought their new Canon D70 at Best Buy last week.