Will Jacks, adjunct professor of photojournalism at the University of Mississippi from Delta State University, presented photographs and a speech on Wednesday night to discuss covering news in difficult environments.
Jacks knew both the shooter, Shannon Lamb, and the victim, Ethan Schmidt from the on-campus murder Monday. Jacks, who lives Cleveland said he has never been placed in this difficult dilemma.
“I to campus and was in a foggy place, but I didn’t think about the dangers mostly because it was in my community,” Jacks said. “I asked myself, ‘What should I do here that is appropriate as a journalist?’ I knew Shannon Lamb casually through a beer here or there. It was all so incredibly real and bizarre. I just kept knowing people.”
Jacks said the familiarity of the town and people made the story much more difficult to cover, especially with the increased media attention.
“No one really reports, they just repeat what they hear,” Jacks said. “We see the same photograph with just a different situation or different town. We become numb and just go through the motions and shoot the same photographs that we see from other shootings.”
Jacks said there was misinformation and uncertainty surrounding most of the details of the shooting. He attributed most of the misinformation to social media.
Students present at the speech named the various stories or rumors they had heard about the shooting. One senior journalism student, Payton Green, said he believes he heard more questions than answers.
“All I’ve really heard is speculation,” Green said. “I also heard there was a connection to the incident in Gautier, which is close to where I live.”
While Jacks felt that the events at Delta State were significant from a photojournalist’s standpoint, he expressed emphasis on reporting the ripple effect. During his speech he told students to think outside of the given boundaries.
The shooting inspired Jacks to begin work on creating a larger project with more context, rather than focusing attention on creating a compelling image.
Jacks said he visited different areas on campus and traveled to areas Lamb reportedly fled to after the shooting. He also visited the campus food drive on Tuesday and observed what he thought was inspiring.
“About 100 volunteers showed up,” Jacks said. “About 24 hours before, they were all scared to death. Now, they are healing by helping.”
Forrest Philpot, a junior at Delta State University, said he has never been more proud of his university.
“I am lucky and blessed to call this place home,” Philpot said. “I’ve seen such a sense of community in the past few days.”
Jacks said he hopes his speech will better prepare future journalists for these situations.
“You will be placed in situations that will be hard,” Jacks said. “Decide if you want to tell it or if you don’t. Will it be for the greater good? Treat everyone as a person, not just the people you know.”
