(No caption)
Tributes are posted Sunday night from Detroit journalists shocked by news that past colleague David Gilkey, a widely admired photojournalist, died in Afghanistan while working for NPR.
David Bethencourt reports in the Free Press, where Gilkey was a photographer and video editor from 1996-2007:
Gilkey was traveling with an Afghan army unit when the convoy came under fire and his vehicle was struck, NPR spokeswoman Isabel Lara said in a statement. An Afghan translator, Zabihullah Tamanna, was also killed.
David Gilkey, 1966-2016 (NPR photo)
He's the first nonmilitary U.S. newsman killed during the 15-year Afghan conflict.
The 50-year-old award winner had extensive experience covering conflicts in Gaza, South Africa, Iraq, the Balkans and Afghanistan. The White House Photographers Association named him Still Photographer of the Year in 2011.
In his work for NPR, which he joined after leaving the Freep, Gilkey made many trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. "Our hearts go out to his family, his friends and his colleagues out in the field," NPR chief executive Jarl Mohn says.
Here in Detroit, he's recalled as "one of the most thoughtful photographers I have ever known,” in the words of Nancy Andrews, a former Free Press managing editor for digital media. She tells Bethencourt:
“On the exterior you had this war photographer who was willing to put himself at great risk to tell stories. And on the other hand you have this really gentle, teddy bear.”
The article in his past paper also quotes Joe Swickard, a former Freep eporter who went to Fallujah, Iraq with Gilkey in 2006:
“He was at home on a battlefield under fire, in military situations. He kept his cool and never lost his artist’s eye. . . .
"His dedication to getting the story was extraordinary.”
Gilkey studied journalism at Oregon State University. Before the Free Press, he handled local assignments for the Boulder Daily Camera, a Colorado newspaper. Knight Ridder, its parent company, sent the skilled rookie on overseas assignments.
"His dedication to getting the story was extraordinary,” Freep alumnus Joe Swickard says of Gilkey (above).
Twitter photo from Afghanistan Journalists Center)
These are among other tributes by current and past Detroit journalists on social media:
► "A great photographer, a great coworker." -- Robert Huschka, Freep executive editor
► "My heart is broken to lose a friend and former colleague. Gilkey and I worked at the Freep with a talented group of visual journalists. Internationally we worked together in Iraq and Albania. . . . He was an amazing storyteller!" -- Gabriel Tait, Freep photographer from 1995-2002
► "It's absolutely devastating. We lost our brother. We lost our friend. We lost the best fucking photographer." -- Mandi Wright, Freep photographer
► "NPR lost a brilliant and brave journalist in Afghanistan today. Many of us lost a friend." -- Don Gonyea, NPR reporter and former WDET staff member
► "The photojournalism community lost one of the greats today. . . .[On] my first overseas assignment [to Lebanon in 2006], Gilkey was unexpectedly kind to me, sharing his time and some amazing stories with me. I have always been a huge admirer of his work. He was brave and honest and I will miss him." -- John Greilick, Detroit News photographer
► "We were lucky in Detroit to be a part of his life when he worked at the Detroit Free Press. Covering sports with David and being in Baghdad together was quite the experience, but for me it will always be that camaraderie and laughter all of us in the Freep photo department shared with him. David always told such great stories and was that one person in a room you'd just naturally gravitate to. Such presence and character about him. . . . He was passionate about making a difference." -- Eric Seals, Freep photographer
► "Heartbreaking news." -- David Shepardson, former Washington Bureau chief for The Detroit News reporter
► "I have a photo by David hanging in my office from an assignment we did together. Saddened beyond words. So talented." -- Dan Shine, Freep reporter/editor from 1995-2004
► "So horribly sad. I'm honored to have worked with this man." -- Suzette Hackney, Freep reporter from 1998-2012
► "What a talented, brave person who risked his life to tell important stories across the globe. . . . I'm floored." -- Jeff Kowalsky, metro Detroit freelance photographer
► "Oh my God. Worked with Gilkey a few times at Freep. Insanely talented. I'm in shock." -- Jemele Hill, ESPN columnist and analyst who was a Freep sportswriter from 1999-2005
► "Very sad news." -- Terry Kosdrosky, former reporter at Crain's Detroit Business (1998-2005) and Detroit bureau of The Wall Street Journal (2006-08)
► "I traveled 10 years ago to Lebanon with David Gilkey to report for the Detroit Free Press about the aftermath of the Israel-Hizballah war. We reported on how Israel's attacks affected people in southern Lebanon, where many in Dearborn have ties to. Sad to hear of his death. I remember David in Lebanon as tenacious, tough and eager to venture out, like when we were searching for areas with cluster bombs. I also remember [his] skills, finding a way to transmit video to Free Press from Lebanon on our first day there with power problems." -- Niraj Warikoo, Freep reporter
► "Before I went to report from Afghanistan in 2004, I spoke with David. He helped me prepare myself. Great guy." -- David O. Cortez, fomrer Freep reporter (2004 Pulitzer nominee)
In this three-minute NPR video, Gilkey talks about photographing amid the wreckage of Haiti's earthquake in January 2010:
