"On Appearing In The Background Behind Two Pulitzer Winners" by Jamey Cribbs

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 05:38:09 -0700

Very funny and well written. I can see how you fought your way to the top of the heap of people attempting to be photographed with Pulitzer-prize winners.

On Appearing In The Background Behind Two Pulitzer Winners

harrisj@nimblecode.com (Jacob Harris) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:45:00 -0700

Wow, this is just so unexpected… Where to begin…

Let me start by stating how amazed I am to be here. As a semipro quasi-journalist wannabe, I’ve been in awe of the Pulitzers for a long time. And while I have daydreamed many a tired morning of winning one, I never seriously believed I would find myself in this spot today: unwittingly standing in the background in a photograph of two Pulitzer winners.

I wish I could say it was skill: my uncanny knack for being sublimely oblivious to photographers focusing on their actual subjects a few feet in front on me. But I must admit that luck has played a far larger part in my current fortune than most other men might want to admit. If not for the chance proximity of me to these fine Pulitzer winners, my labor would be relegated to obscurity like so many other such pictures, scattered across the negatives and memory cards of so many tourists’ vacations.

Of course, fate may have delivered me to this moment, but once there my years of training guided to success. I refrained from blinking, I didn’t pick my nose, I subconsciously stood at the right place to hide the coffee stain on my jeans, all of which made a difference in the selection of this photo over so many others. Luck may deliver you to these opportunities, but once there, it’s up to your talents to make the most of it.

But enough about me; sorry I’m rambling so much, it’s just such a crazy moment! To riff on Hillary, it certainly takes a village to take a Pulitzer crowd shot, and I have so many people to thank for making this day possible. Obviously, a lot of praise goes to Walt Bogdanich and Amy Harmon not just for truly excellent reporting that illustrates the power of journalism but also for standing in front of me at the decisive moment.

To the amazing NY Times photography desk, for their peerless skill at capturing the moment when the winners are smiling and I don’t have a dorky look on my face. They make it look easy, but it’s not! Photography was the key difference in bringing my story to light… Of course, thanks also go to Graphics and Computer Assisted Reporting, who led the way up the stairs but at a key moment went left while I went right. And to the Web Producers who ran this photo on the website, thus ensuring I had my 15 minutes of Internet fame to blog about. And that Website which also gave me a job so that I could one day stand here. Right behind the Pulitzer winners.

Of course, thanks also go out to Renzo Piano for designing this new building with its skylight that allows me to be bathed in flattering natural light as opposed to the harsh judgment of flourescent.

And where would I be without Bill Keller who drove this story every step of the way: from calling the all-hands meeting to naming the awards to pointing out the Pulitzer winners just a few feet from where I haplessly stood.

Finally, none of this would be possible without the fine work of our publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.. Not only does he continue the best damn newspaper in the whole world. Not only did he give us this fine new newsroom. But he continues the tradition of championing excellence and integrity in journalism that all of us stand behind.

For some of us, more literally than others. Thank you.

Nimble Code: On Appearing In The Background Behind Two Pulitzer Winners

"On Appearing In The Background Behind Two Pulitzer Winners" by Jamey Cribbs

On Appearing In The Background Behind Two Pulitzer Winners