Gutted by this. Became acquainted w John in Little Rock, AR, late 1992, while we covered President-elect Clinton’s transition proceedings. A wonderful fellow. Funny and focused. My deepest sympathies to his family.
Damn, Ken, I had no idea all that John had gone through in recent years. I have always thought that in the wire service business some of our best teachers are our competitors and John taught me some of the best lessons ever in terms of how driving, motivated and endlessly energetic he was and frankly some of the worst lessons, in terms of things NOT to emulate. But I definitely learned from him, and to anyone that has been true of, I am profoundly and eternally grateful. I can't tell you how much of what you wrote here rang true and struck home. This was a tough tough read for those of us who knew John and had fallen way out of touch with him, but also smart and revelatory and wise, as your writing has always tends to be. THANK YOU for the honesty and the power of what you shared in this essay.
Great piece Ken. He taught me everything I know about Photojournalism and the AP. In my early years in the business I really really sucked, and he kept me on as the stringer in Omaha anyway. It wasn't because I was a good photographer, it was because I talked to him like few other people would talk to him. I wasn't as awe struck by him, for the early part of my career I had no idea he was the best that the Associated Press had. To me he was just my friend and my boss who took risks that were far too great with young children at home. I remember in the early 90's being in the Seattle Bureau with my staffer at the time, watching John's images come back from Gaza. He was getting great images, stuff we had just never seen before, but he was getting way too close. I remember telling Barry Sweet, "He's going to get himself killed before I get to yell at him." The next morning we got word from New York that he had been shot in the side of the knee by an Israeli sniper. I knew that it wasn't by accident, I was on the US Rifle team at one point in my life, I knew the sniper could have killed him very easily if he wanted to, this was more of a warning to John to knock it off. I told John that when he got back to the states. I really hoped it was the wake up call to " I need to stop trying to get myself killed every time the opportunity arises". Instead i think it gave him the idea of going out in a blaze of glory. Things started to get worse from there. As the years past, journalism deteriorated to a point none of us could have ever imagined. We were all made sick by it, we all found our own way in life. Each one of us reading this had to come to grips with the fact that the business was dying much faster than we ever dreamed. Periodically John would call and we would tell stories and talk about things we should have done, things we wanted to do, how incredibly jealous we were of Ted Kirk. For those of you who don't know Ted is a great photographer and a wonderful person and very well grounded. Ted was the one that John really looked up too and John didn't look up to many people at all. I think he expected to grow older and find enjoyment in other things in life, like Ted had done. I kept in contact with John on a fairly regular basis up until the end. I honestly thought the dog was helping, he was sounding much more like the guy I had grown up knowing, I honestly thought he had it beat. I guess the only thing I have left is that there are 40 guys out there just like me. Guys who owe their entire career's to John. He was loved by few, hated by most,.....and envied by everyone. Godspeed my friend.
Excellent piece, Ken. I didn't know John did a stint in Omaha and that you had worked together and around him for a few years.
I only knew John a little bit, a long time ago when we would end up at the same event or assignment together. A unique guy and outsized personality, and I could tell the flame of passion for his craft burned white hot. That can come at a cost. He had a massive amount of self-confidence which is something I always envied among my peers, and he could back it up with good work.
"The late nights probably weren’t the best thing for his young family. Meaning, I know they weren’t, but John was competitive and driven." - That reminds me of the old saying about being young in the military: "If the Army wanted you to have a family they would have issued you one." He obviously had very strong ambitions and drive, and that's not really compatible with raising a family when you're in your early twenties, which is basically still a kid.
We friended each other on Facebook a few years ago, and he had become a pastor at a very small church, and also doing Bible study teaching videos on YouTube. He was passionate about that too. But then some recent posts on Facebook were a literal cry for help, a few months back, and I could tell he was in trouble. I did not know that he had become an alcoholic. My dad was an alcoholic all my life growing up, so I have empathy and understanding of it. The fact that his treatment counselors accused him of being a liar because of his stories, which seemed grandiose, really angers me. That must have hurt him.
A wonderful tribute to John, Ken. I never met him, but had certainly heard of him. His stories are legendary and I'm so sorry to hear of what had happened to him in his later years. Your four take-aways were insightful and would love to see them shared with any young pj student...
Gutted by this. Became acquainted w John in Little Rock, AR, late 1992, while we covered President-elect Clinton’s transition proceedings. A wonderful fellow. Funny and focused. My deepest sympathies to his family.
Damn, Ken, I had no idea all that John had gone through in recent years. I have always thought that in the wire service business some of our best teachers are our competitors and John taught me some of the best lessons ever in terms of how driving, motivated and endlessly energetic he was and frankly some of the worst lessons, in terms of things NOT to emulate. But I definitely learned from him, and to anyone that has been true of, I am profoundly and eternally grateful. I can't tell you how much of what you wrote here rang true and struck home. This was a tough tough read for those of us who knew John and had fallen way out of touch with him, but also smart and revelatory and wise, as your writing has always tends to be. THANK YOU for the honesty and the power of what you shared in this essay.
Great piece Ken. He taught me everything I know about Photojournalism and the AP. In my early years in the business I really really sucked, and he kept me on as the stringer in Omaha anyway. It wasn't because I was a good photographer, it was because I talked to him like few other people would talk to him. I wasn't as awe struck by him, for the early part of my career I had no idea he was the best that the Associated Press had. To me he was just my friend and my boss who took risks that were far too great with young children at home. I remember in the early 90's being in the Seattle Bureau with my staffer at the time, watching John's images come back from Gaza. He was getting great images, stuff we had just never seen before, but he was getting way too close. I remember telling Barry Sweet, "He's going to get himself killed before I get to yell at him." The next morning we got word from New York that he had been shot in the side of the knee by an Israeli sniper. I knew that it wasn't by accident, I was on the US Rifle team at one point in my life, I knew the sniper could have killed him very easily if he wanted to, this was more of a warning to John to knock it off. I told John that when he got back to the states. I really hoped it was the wake up call to " I need to stop trying to get myself killed every time the opportunity arises". Instead i think it gave him the idea of going out in a blaze of glory. Things started to get worse from there. As the years past, journalism deteriorated to a point none of us could have ever imagined. We were all made sick by it, we all found our own way in life. Each one of us reading this had to come to grips with the fact that the business was dying much faster than we ever dreamed. Periodically John would call and we would tell stories and talk about things we should have done, things we wanted to do, how incredibly jealous we were of Ted Kirk. For those of you who don't know Ted is a great photographer and a wonderful person and very well grounded. Ted was the one that John really looked up too and John didn't look up to many people at all. I think he expected to grow older and find enjoyment in other things in life, like Ted had done. I kept in contact with John on a fairly regular basis up until the end. I honestly thought the dog was helping, he was sounding much more like the guy I had grown up knowing, I honestly thought he had it beat. I guess the only thing I have left is that there are 40 guys out there just like me. Guys who owe their entire career's to John. He was loved by few, hated by most,.....and envied by everyone. Godspeed my friend.
Excellent piece, Ken. I didn't know John did a stint in Omaha and that you had worked together and around him for a few years.
I only knew John a little bit, a long time ago when we would end up at the same event or assignment together. A unique guy and outsized personality, and I could tell the flame of passion for his craft burned white hot. That can come at a cost. He had a massive amount of self-confidence which is something I always envied among my peers, and he could back it up with good work.
"The late nights probably weren’t the best thing for his young family. Meaning, I know they weren’t, but John was competitive and driven." - That reminds me of the old saying about being young in the military: "If the Army wanted you to have a family they would have issued you one." He obviously had very strong ambitions and drive, and that's not really compatible with raising a family when you're in your early twenties, which is basically still a kid.
We friended each other on Facebook a few years ago, and he had become a pastor at a very small church, and also doing Bible study teaching videos on YouTube. He was passionate about that too. But then some recent posts on Facebook were a literal cry for help, a few months back, and I could tell he was in trouble. I did not know that he had become an alcoholic. My dad was an alcoholic all my life growing up, so I have empathy and understanding of it. The fact that his treatment counselors accused him of being a liar because of his stories, which seemed grandiose, really angers me. That must have hurt him.
RIP, John.
A wonderful tribute to John, Ken. I never met him, but had certainly heard of him. His stories are legendary and I'm so sorry to hear of what had happened to him in his later years. Your four take-aways were insightful and would love to see them shared with any young pj student...