“Working as a picture editor for an agency like Reuters is like having a front-row seat to the biggest news stories as they unfold around the world,” tells Rickey Rogers the Global Editor of Reuters Pictures. “It’s a privilege, but also a huge responsibility to work with photographers.”
Reuters was first founded in London in 1851, with the mission to present to the world the news that matters. But it did not originally have its own branded photo agency. That began in 1985, after Reuters purchased the photo services from United Press International, known as UPI. While a relative newcomer in terms of time, Reuters Pictures has become a major wire service, sending over 1.5 million photographs every year to outlets around the globe.
The new book In the Moment: 40 Years of Reuters Photojournalism looks back at this impressive history, and the stories and photographs that have defined the last four decades. When seen together, the more than 500 photographs included in the book create a powerful testament to the power of photography.
“We now have a unique document that gives readers a deeper understanding of what it takes to cover the news. While we often say that every picture tells a story, this book reveals the stories behind some of our most powerful pictures,” says Rogers. “It’s a celebration of the first 40 years of Reuters Pictures, and some of the photographers and editors who built it photo-by-photo.”
Reuters’ photographers capture photographs that document events as they happen from all over the world. They are there for natural disasters, political appearances, revolutions, war, famine, and refugee crisis, they have seen it all. Their photographs show the stories, people, and events, both big and small, that shape the world around us.
But photojournalism is not always easy, or safe. Rather, it is inherently dangerous. To be a photojournalist you have no choice but to be there, in harm’s way if necessary. One can’t make photographs remotely. This has resulted in some of their photographers being wounded in the line of duty; others have been killed. But their work has received numerous awards over the decades, including a 2024 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography of the Israel–Hamas war.
Now Reuters, and other wire services and news outlets are facing a new slew of challenges to the importance and power of photography that their photojournalists put themselves at risk for to tell the hard stories of the world. Faith in journalism is eroding in the face of partisan attacks along political lines. People are turning to social media for more of their news instead of traditional outlets. All the while the rise of AI has led to fake photographs gaining traction and influencing viewers before they realize what it is they are seeing. Combating misinformation, misleading and fake news, and separating fact from fiction are even more important than ever in the polarized world in which we live.
“It’s true that trust in journalism is being challenged; we can no longer take for granted that what we’re reading, hearing, and seeing is factual. That makes our job harder. But the world still consumes news, whether through traditional media or social platforms, and we have to step up to the challenge,” Rogers explains. “We’ve long said that you can only trust a photograph as much as you can trust its source. That’s why the role of editors is more important than ever. I believe we can restore faith in journalism and photojournalism by upholding ethical standards, being transparent with corrections, and remaining accessible to the public.”
In the Moment: 40 Years of Reuters Photojournalism is published by Thames & Hudson and can be purchased for $65.
