Culture
Still Images Still Powerful, Says National Geographic Editor
By: Tom Hodson
Posted on:
Good photography is the intersection between great ideas and emotional power, according to Dennis Dimick, executive editor of National Geographic.
Dimick visited Ohio University as part of GIS Day, an event co-sponsored by the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs and the Department of Geography.
Over the past 35 years, Dimick has been responsible for most of the human-environment stories and editions done by National Geographic, including this month’s climate change issue, which is drawing social media attention under the hashtag #Coolit.
In April 2010, he was responsible for an issue on global fresh water. In 2011 he piloted a series called “7 Billion” about global population and in 2014, he spearheaded a series on the “Future of Food,” about global food security.
In 2004, he also originated and orchestrated creation of a 74-page, three-story project on climate change called “Global Warning: Bulletins from a Warmer World.”
Dimick talked to WOUB’s Tom Hodson about the changing world of publications, saying that there is still power behind still images in the digital age.
He also notes that publications that used to be English based have now changed to meet a more global market. National Geographic is now published in 36 to 37 different foreign languages.
Dimick has degress in agriculture and agricultural journalism from Oregon State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has co-organized the Aspen Environment Forum from 2008-2012 and regularly presents lectures and slide shows on global environmental issues.
For 17 years, he has been a faculty member of the Missouri Photo Workshop and in 2013 received the Sprague Memorial Award from the National Press Photographers Association for outstanding service to photojournalism.
