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Joel Smith on Muck Rack

Joel Smith

(He/Him)
West Virginia
As seen in: Utne Reader
Covers:  Influence operations, disinformation, militarism, military, Nonviolent Civil Resistance, human rights, human rights law, IHL, civil rights, media ethics, social sciences, documentary journalism
Doesn't Cover: Fashion, beauty, entertainment, television, gadgets
Author "Night of a Thousand Stars & Other Portraits of Iraq" Volunteer Firefighter/CPR/AED Instructor/Rope Rescue/Water Rescue #OSINT #NVCR #HumanRights

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Joel Smith’s Biography

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’ve been a journalist for about 30 years, focused on social justice, the environment, militarism and human rights. I’ve worked as a first responder and/or journalist in the United States, Honduras, Rwanda, Iraq, Gaza, and the West Bank. My documentary photography is in the permanent collection of the Houston Museum of Fine Art, and in six books, including my book of photos and essays on the Iraq War: "Night of a Thousand Stars and Other Portraits of Iraq" (Nazraeli Press, 2006, nominated for th…

Joel Smith’s Journalist Portfolio

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Hardscrabble Salvation - Utne

Hardscrabble Salvation - Utne

I learned my work ethic from watching my mother refuse to quit...

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Night of a Thousand Stars and Other Portraits of Iraq. Photographs by Joel Preston Smith. 1-590-0...

Night of a Thousand Stars and Other Portraits of Iraq. Photographs by Joel Preston Smith. 1-590-0...

. . Later still, when the images resolved to such a point of clarity that Plato's perfect, eternal forms were…

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Making a Killing

Making a Killing

Making a Killing FromThe Arab American News May 25, 2005 [Investigative Journalism] Portland, Ore. - When mos…

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Night of a Thousand Stars (essay in book)

Night of a Thousand Stars (essay in book)

Night of a Thousand Stars, From the book "Night of a Thousand Stars and Other Portraits of Iraq" (Nazraeli Pr…

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Three Ways to Reduce Internal Conflict in Civil Resistance Movements

Three Ways to Reduce Internal Conflict in Civil Resistance Movements

One of my least favorite memories of working as an emergency manager at the Standing Rock pipeline protests i…

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Overcoming Mental Health Challenges as Movement Leaders and Activists

Overcoming Mental Health Challenges as Movement Leaders and Activists

Human rights activist Beatrice Karore was five months pregnant when she was shot twice in the hips with rubbe…

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Articles

Water out of fish

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By Joel Smith
| joelprestonsmith.com
Water out of fish by Joel Preston Smith (Sound Consumer magazine, 2012) “Last year I went fishing with Salvador Dali. He was using a dotted line. He caught every other fish.” — Comedian Steven Wright There’s more than enough fish in the sea. The oceans are dying. Don’t worry. Panic. The histrionic debate over whether fish stocks are healthy, or whether they’re on the verge of collapse, has consumers lost at sea.
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Hardscrabble Salvation – Utne

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By Joel Smith
| Utne Reader Verified
In 1974 my mother, my father, and I moved from a trailer park in Cleveland to a 97-acre farm in Liberty, West Virginia. I was 13, a city brat, an only child, and I thought I’d died and gone to hell. The world I left was coated in concrete, which led to shopping centers and movie theaters. The world to which I was banished was covered in corn, beans, potatoes, and squash, which led to blisters. A wise child would have been grateful.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

Being an omsbudsman for the Charleston Daily Mail (which has since merged with the Charleston Gazette, to become the Charleston Gazette-Mail)

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Yes

How is social media changing news?

I think the biggest impact is that social media dilutes the value of information, and diminishes the reliability of even mainstream outlets