you
[Music]
here we go yep there we go okay here we
are look at the timer and looking at you
guys I can barely see you guys out there
alright so who’s nervous
I can’t see you guys because the light
so doesn’t really matter so a couple
months ago I heard about this TEDx and I
got really excited I’m a photojournalist
I covered Ferguson my name is Dan Gill
have covered international stories am I
talking too fast okay so I filled out
this little form online and the forms
about this big and it says what would
you like to speak about and so I wrote
it and the form kept staying that big
but I kept on writing and writing and
writing my presentation was perfect it
was ten minutes long but I decided not
to give it because I didn’t save it
that’s the first thing the second thing
is I didn’t expect be picked I mean
photojournalist we show pictures we go
on an assignment were invisible but I’m
here so when I didn’t save it so when I
was picked I got really nervous because
I didn’t really have a presentation so I
went home and I wrote it and I had it
all it was perfect but then it sat on my
desk and I read it a couple more times
and last Wednesday to the group’s
chagrin here I said I’m not going to
give the presentation sorry I decided to
shred it tomorrow morning do you guys
want to know what the presentation was
going to be about it was going to be
come along with me I’m a photojournalist
I’m going to show you it was like to
cover Ferguson it was corny and I’ve
seen TED Talks before and it didn’t
really do this stage justice wait a
minute all right this is an older
version so bear with me so it didn’t
really do this justice so I thought it’s
a talk I don’t have to really write a
speech about it so here it goes when I
was at the Tribune here in town I had a
picture editor his name is Mike Stewart
he’s a South East bureau chief The
Associated Press right now he’s kind of
a big dude so I said Mike no actually he
told me one day he said a picture’s
worth a thousand words and most the time
and a good one doesn’t need to be
accompanied by any reporters didn’t like
that very much
so I said Mike I want to go out and do a
picture story do I find a reporter
before or later he goes oh go find the
story work on the story for a little bit
and when you find it coming along then
we’ll find a scribbler for you like what
a scribbler oh yeah you know the person
from the is room that goes out with a
piece of paper and follows your ongoing
uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
well I love reporters I love going down
rabbit holes with them I love going deep
down rabbit holes and finding what
stories are all about I’m still nervous
The Associated Press says when you go
out on assignment with them they want
you to send them three great ones or two
good sorry three good ones or two great
ones
the New York Times wants you to shoot a
picture story every time you go out
sending 25 images I still don’t know
what to tell my president do my
presentation on so I thought what do I
do it on well this is the presentation
they give my friends and family after I
go cover an assignment that’s not it
this is one third of the pictures from
the second day my Ferguson coverage I’ll
show you what it includes can you see it
it includes of them putting up
barricades in front of the fire area
them fixing up downtown that’s the place
through it was burned but I’m not going
to show you any of those images tonight
here’s what I’m going to show you I’m
going to show you what I saw I’m going
to show you the stories that I tell my
friends and family the gang of five they
were standing right next to the Ferguson
Mart for the yeah Ferguson market the
Ferguson market is where Michael Brown
went to buy cigarettes
the day he was shot in the back is a
church and when I was there a Baptist
miniature pulled up in the church with
his beautiful nice car but I’ll talk
about him in a minute so I asked these
guys I said so what are those what are
you guys doing they said we’re gang
we’re gang a five I went okay well how
many people are in your gang they said
five
and I said so why are you guys in again
well we’re in a gang because nobody else
is going to protect us because we’re
here on our own because the police won’t
protect us we need to protect ourselves
against other gangs we used to be
protecting ourselves against other gangs
now we protect ourselves against police
I said so what is this what is the hand
gesture and they said that’s our gang
sign and I said but what is this and
they said that’s for police so I asked
one of the guys I asked him I said so
have you guys ever been hurt and they
said yeah I said you guys know anyone
who’s been hurt they said yeah we all
knows people who’ve been shot shot and
some of them killed and one of the guys
had a teardrop tattoo underneath his eye
and so I asked what was out I they sorry
I asked him what that was for and he
said it was for a friend of his this is
the McDonald’s that was burned down the
street we’re going to move past these
for a second so this Baptist minister
comes up and unrolls the sign in front
of these guys and says hey can you guys
hold the sign hold it for the cameras
and I was right there and he looks at me
as I was taking pictures he said what
are you doing taking pictures I’m like
I’m telling a story so he hands them the
sign and they don’t want to hold it one
of the guys has his hands up that’s a
similar protest another guy has his flag
upside down that’s also a symbol protest
the pastor just doesn’t get it I love
this guy
you can’t see him but he’s really dark
and he’s right there in the middle this
is after he gave his speech I shot video
of the speech I lost it unfortunately I
have it at home probably summer one of
my many hard drives but I’ll tell you
kind of what he was speaking about he
says to the National Guard how dare you
come here and defend a murderer by
standing here and standing on his side
you’re defending him you were protecting
you’re here to protect him how do you
sleep at night I’m here for my kids I
don’t want to be shot by police he sees
one of the National Guard a little some
I saw you I saw that you smiled because
you smiled I got you you get it I love
you I wish I could come over there and
hug you right now you’ll resign from
this group and come back and really do
something good so on the second out of
the protest people were protesting down
and they were vying back and forth for
control the street with police and this
guy over here with the megaphone kind of
pulls away and says we need to March the
City Hall so he’s marching the City Hall
underneath the light of a police
helicopter he’s saying City Hall is
where we need to do the change that’s
where it needs to happen he’s up against
City Hall he’s banging his hand or his
foot up against the door saying this is
where change needs to happen and then he
goes Oh expletive I didn’t mean to do
that and he lowers the megaphone and
that one moment we blows the megaphone
someone throws a cinderblock through the
window see the timestamp a couple
seconds later they stand on top of a
police car within a minute they had
rolled the police car did you guys see
this on the news did you guys see the
guy in front of City Hall in the news
this is two minute this is nine minutes
later so I was working with this
reporter this reporters from Sweden this
is my favorite story about Ferguson and
the reporter says my editors say that
they’re tired of hearing the stories
about the protesters and the protests
going on because they’re going to
continue but we want to do is we want to
find out what’s happening really with
the protests really what they’re talking
about so we want to find one protester
and ask them about why they’re
protesting why they’re doing what
they’re doing do you know this person I
said I met her yesterday so here I am a
white guy with a jacket on over police
vest carrying a Kevlar helmet and gas
masks in my backpack and I leaned into
the window of this masked car with loud
music and I said hey my name is Dan Gill
I’m a contract photo journalist I’m
working with a Swedish reporter we’re
hearing the telling the story of
Ferguson and we’d like to interview you
tomorrow
is that okay can I get your phone number
and she said sure so if she gave me your
phone number
and I said hey we’d like to meet
someplace kind of just public place
someplace you’re familiar with and
comfortable with there’s a McDonald’s
down the street down the highway it’s
about a mile from where you live and she
said I don’t know how to get there and I
said what do you mean you don’t know how
to get there it’s the next block on the
highway it’s the next exit and she said
we don’t go that far west hey okay I
drove here from Columbia Missouri
I drove 120 miles to get here and you’re
telling me that you don’t drive a mile
west on i-70 yeah why she goes I’m the
mother of two children I don’t to be
arrested and if I’m arrested I’ll
probably be put in jail and that can’t
happen I said where do you go she said I
Drive from home to drop off my kids at
school and then I drive east on 70
downtown if you guys are familiar with
st. Louis and I go to school there I’m
working on my GED and I said you’re
going to kind of freak out here because
this report is from Sweden and she went
no I wish I would have shot a video for
reaction because it took several minutes
and then finally I said to the Swedish
reporter I said do you mind if you asked
her a question in Swedish so she did she
said what’s your name and she freaked
out again and then she started talking
about her experiences so this is the
protester I thought from Ferguson she’s
wearing the t-shirt the angry t-shirt
and she’s wearing the hat and she’s
crying she’s not angry she’s upset she’s
crying she’s sad she’s listening to
Michael Browns mom talk about what she
felt about the verdict the night of the
verdict those are pictures of her kids
so actually I had a different slide that
went here but I’m just going to go ahead
and watch never mind front of us now so
this is from her what would you do if he
were your son if this was your community
you don’t really understand unless it
happens to you so what was the story
about was it about the riot in Ferguson
was it about the militarization of
police was it about the journalists who
arrested so now what well Ferguson is a
complicated story it requires time
patience and empathy to understand we
all travel those well trodden roads
every single day we all go from home to
school to work to home again just like
she does what we need to do is move off
those paths so we can understand other
people and what they do same story
different day this is what journalists
were hate talking about first of all
it’s covered every a lot because is this
a problem
second does this story need attention
that’s the question the journalists are
asked themselves and then third why do
we keep telling the story or hearing the
story time after time again and people
still don’t get it or maybe they don’t
believe it so here’s a couple of
solutions
here’s solution number one go to your
local newspaper ask if you can sit in a
news meeting ask questions listen go
home and try to understand solution
number two go to a protest ask a
protestor why they’re protesting and
then listen and then go home and try to
understand I had a good speech in front
of this one so over 200 years ago our
country was in revolution we chose to go
to war against the largest country in
the world not the largest country I’m
sorry but the largest military in the
world and we chose what we thought was
the best form of government democracy
and this is what Thomas Jefferson wrote
long ago about democracy a proper
functioning democracy depends on a low
informed electorate I think he was right
back to back then at a time of
revolution and I think he’s right today
thank you for your day thank you for
your time
you
[Music]
you
[Music]
here we go yep there we go okay here we
are look at the timer and looking at you
guys I can barely see you guys out there
alright so who’s nervous
I can’t see you guys because the light
so doesn’t really matter so a couple
months ago I heard about this TEDx and I
got really excited I’m a photojournalist
I covered Ferguson my name is Dan Gill
have covered international stories am I
talking too fast okay so I filled out
this little form online and the forms
about this big and it says what would
you like to speak about and so I wrote
it and the form kept staying that big
but I kept on writing and writing and
writing my presentation was perfect it
was ten minutes long but I decided not
to give it because I didn’t save it
that’s the first thing the second thing
is I didn’t expect be picked I mean
photojournalist we show pictures we go
on an assignment were invisible but I’m
here so when I didn’t save it so when I
was picked I got really nervous because
I didn’t really have a presentation so I
went home and I wrote it and I had it
all it was perfect but then it sat on my
desk and I read it a couple more times
and last Wednesday to the group’s
chagrin here I said I’m not going to
give the presentation sorry I decided to
shred it tomorrow morning do you guys
want to know what the presentation was
going to be about it was going to be
come along with me I’m a photojournalist
I’m going to show you it was like to
cover Ferguson it was corny and I’ve
seen TED Talks before and it didn’t
really do this stage justice wait a
minute all right this is an older
version so bear with me so it didn’t
really do this justice so I thought it’s
a talk I don’t have to really write a
speech about it so here it goes when I
was at the Tribune here in town I had a
picture editor his name is Mike Stewart
he’s a South East bureau chief The
Associated Press right now he’s kind of
a big dude so I said Mike no actually he
told me one day he said a picture’s
worth a thousand words and most the time
and a good one doesn’t need to be
accompanied by any reporters didn’t like
that very much
so I said Mike I want to go out and do a
picture story do I find a reporter
before or later he goes oh go find the
story work on the story for a little bit
and when you find it coming along then
we’ll find a scribbler for you like what
a scribbler oh yeah you know the person
from the is room that goes out with a
piece of paper and follows your ongoing
uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
well I love reporters I love going down
rabbit holes with them I love going deep
down rabbit holes and finding what
stories are all about I’m still nervous
The Associated Press says when you go
out on assignment with them they want
you to send them three great ones or two
good sorry three good ones or two great
ones
the New York Times wants you to shoot a
picture story every time you go out
sending 25 images I still don’t know
what to tell my president do my
presentation on so I thought what do I
do it on well this is the presentation
they give my friends and family after I
go cover an assignment that’s not it
this is one third of the pictures from
the second day my Ferguson coverage I’ll
show you what it includes can you see it
it includes of them putting up
barricades in front of the fire area
them fixing up downtown that’s the place
through it was burned but I’m not going
to show you any of those images tonight
here’s what I’m going to show you I’m
going to show you what I saw I’m going
to show you the stories that I tell my
friends and family the gang of five they
were standing right next to the Ferguson
Mart for the yeah Ferguson market the
Ferguson market is where Michael Brown
went to buy cigarettes
the day he was shot in the back is a
church and when I was there a Baptist
miniature pulled up in the church with
his beautiful nice car but I’ll talk
about him in a minute so I asked these
guys I said so what are those what are
you guys doing they said we’re gang
we’re gang a five I went okay well how
many people are in your gang they said
five
and I said so why are you guys in again
well we’re in a gang because nobody else
is going to protect us because we’re
here on our own because the police won’t
protect us we need to protect ourselves
against other gangs we used to be
protecting ourselves against other gangs
now we protect ourselves against police
I said so what is this what is the hand
gesture and they said that’s our gang
sign and I said but what is this and
they said that’s for police so I asked
one of the guys I asked him I said so
have you guys ever been hurt and they
said yeah I said you guys know anyone
who’s been hurt they said yeah we all
knows people who’ve been shot shot and
some of them killed and one of the guys
had a teardrop tattoo underneath his eye
and so I asked what was out I they sorry
I asked him what that was for and he
said it was for a friend of his this is
the McDonald’s that was burned down the
street we’re going to move past these
for a second so this Baptist minister
comes up and unrolls the sign in front
of these guys and says hey can you guys
hold the sign hold it for the cameras
and I was right there and he looks at me
as I was taking pictures he said what
are you doing taking pictures I’m like
I’m telling a story so he hands them the
sign and they don’t want to hold it one
of the guys has his hands up that’s a
similar protest another guy has his flag
upside down that’s also a symbol protest
the pastor just doesn’t get it I love
this guy
you can’t see him but he’s really dark
and he’s right there in the middle this
is after he gave his speech I shot video
of the speech I lost it unfortunately I
have it at home probably summer one of
my many hard drives but I’ll tell you
kind of what he was speaking about he
says to the National Guard how dare you
come here and defend a murderer by
standing here and standing on his side
you’re defending him you were protecting
you’re here to protect him how do you
sleep at night I’m here for my kids I
don’t want to be shot by police he sees
one of the National Guard a little some
I saw you I saw that you smiled because
you smiled I got you you get it I love
you I wish I could come over there and
hug you right now you’ll resign from
this group and come back and really do
something good so on the second out of
the protest people were protesting down
and they were vying back and forth for
control the street with police and this
guy over here with the megaphone kind of
pulls away and says we need to March the
City Hall so he’s marching the City Hall
underneath the light of a police
helicopter he’s saying City Hall is
where we need to do the change that’s
where it needs to happen he’s up against
City Hall he’s banging his hand or his
foot up against the door saying this is
where change needs to happen and then he
goes Oh expletive I didn’t mean to do
that and he lowers the megaphone and
that one moment we blows the megaphone
someone throws a cinderblock through the
window see the timestamp a couple
seconds later they stand on top of a
police car within a minute they had
rolled the police car did you guys see
this on the news did you guys see the
guy in front of City Hall in the news
this is two minute this is nine minutes
later so I was working with this
reporter this reporters from Sweden this
is my favorite story about Ferguson and
the reporter says my editors say that
they’re tired of hearing the stories
about the protesters and the protests
going on because they’re going to
continue but we want to do is we want to
find out what’s happening really with
the protests really what they’re talking
about so we want to find one protester
and ask them about why they’re
protesting why they’re doing what
they’re doing do you know this person I
said I met her yesterday so here I am a
white guy with a jacket on over police
vest carrying a Kevlar helmet and gas
masks in my backpack and I leaned into
the window of this masked car with loud
music and I said hey my name is Dan Gill
I’m a contract photo journalist I’m
working with a Swedish reporter we’re
hearing the telling the story of
Ferguson and we’d like to interview you
tomorrow
is that okay can I get your phone number
and she said sure so if she gave me your
phone number
and I said hey we’d like to meet
someplace kind of just public place
someplace you’re familiar with and
comfortable with there’s a McDonald’s
down the street down the highway it’s
about a mile from where you live and she
said I don’t know how to get there and I
said what do you mean you don’t know how
to get there it’s the next block on the
highway it’s the next exit and she said
we don’t go that far west hey okay I
drove here from Columbia Missouri
I drove 120 miles to get here and you’re
telling me that you don’t drive a mile
west on i-70 yeah why she goes I’m the
mother of two children I don’t to be
arrested and if I’m arrested I’ll
probably be put in jail and that can’t
happen I said where do you go she said I
Drive from home to drop off my kids at
school and then I drive east on 70
downtown if you guys are familiar with
st. Louis and I go to school there I’m
working on my GED and I said you’re
going to kind of freak out here because
this report is from Sweden and she went
no I wish I would have shot a video for
reaction because it took several minutes
and then finally I said to the Swedish
reporter I said do you mind if you asked
her a question in Swedish so she did she
said what’s your name and she freaked
out again and then she started talking
about her experiences so this is the
protester I thought from Ferguson she’s
wearing the t-shirt the angry t-shirt
and she’s wearing the hat and she’s
crying she’s not angry she’s upset she’s
crying she’s sad she’s listening to
Michael Browns mom talk about what she
felt about the verdict the night of the
verdict those are pictures of her kids
so actually I had a different slide that
went here but I’m just going to go ahead
and watch never mind front of us now so
this is from her what would you do if he
were your son if this was your community
you don’t really understand unless it
happens to you so what was the story
about was it about the riot in Ferguson
was it about the militarization of
police was it about the journalists who
arrested so now what well Ferguson is a
complicated story it requires time
patience and empathy to understand we
all travel those well trodden roads
every single day we all go from home to
school to work to home again just like
she does what we need to do is move off
those paths so we can understand other
people and what they do same story
different day this is what journalists
were hate talking about first of all
it’s covered every a lot because is this
a problem
second does this story need attention
that’s the question the journalists are
asked themselves and then third why do
we keep telling the story or hearing the
story time after time again and people
still don’t get it or maybe they don’t
believe it so here’s a couple of
solutions
here’s solution number one go to your
local newspaper ask if you can sit in a
news meeting ask questions listen go
home and try to understand solution
number two go to a protest ask a
protestor why they’re protesting and
then listen and then go home and try to
understand I had a good speech in front
of this one so over 200 years ago our
country was in revolution we chose to go
to war against the largest country in
the world not the largest country I’m
sorry but the largest military in the
world and we chose what we thought was
the best form of government democracy
and this is what Thomas Jefferson wrote
long ago about democracy a proper
functioning democracy depends on a low
informed electorate I think he was right
back to back then at a time of
revolution and I think he’s right today
thank you for your day thank you for
your time
you
[Music]
you
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