Michele McNally became director of photography for The New York Times in June 2004, and assistant managing editor in July 2005. She has been a jury member on three previous occasions and chaired the jury of the 2007 Photo Contest.
When asked about her expectations of the task ahead, McNally said:
“I feel I will see extraordinary pictures from the events of last year. I expect it will be a tough year to be a judge and make selections from the very worthy images that have been produced. So much has transpired. I think there will be many discussions about the most important historical events and there is no easy answer to that question.’
McNally also reflected on what has changed since she last was on the jury in 2007:
“These past years have sadly seen an unusual amount of wars, destruction, fleeing refugees, deadly immigration, assassinations, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, uprisings, drought, famine, diseases, even an Ebola epidemic. It seems to me that the news has been way more unrelenting in recent times, then during that period. We have more and more photographers shooting on multiple fronts and news situations.
The other thing that has changed over these years is how dangerous and treacherous it is to cover these conflicts, for photojournalists and journalists. These last years have been tough on both. We have seen colleagues and friends killed, kidnapped, maimed, and even beheaded publicly. It is a constant challenge to weigh the news value against the danger. Security is the first concern.”