Awards

The Media School Distinguished Alumni Award - 2018

About Richard Horwitz

Richard Horwitz's career in photojournalism began with a chain of decisions made at just the right moments.

His work in photojournalism has taken him to all 50 states, and 76 countries.

Although Horwitz was raised in Illinois, when he shared his plan to study astronomy, his high school counselor suggested he consider Indiana University. By his own record, Horwitz explains that once he visited IU, he immediately fell in love with the campus and ultimately enrolled.

He joined the IU Arbutus yearbook as a staff photographer and found himself dedicating more time to his work there than to his astronomy classes. During his sophomore year, he spoke to then department chair, John Stempel, about changing his major from astronomy to journalism. Altering course would require taking additional classes, but he deemed it worth his efforts.

While in college, he freelanced for the Associated Press, photographed sporting events and took on other assignments. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from IU in 1963 and a master's degree in education with an audiovisual communication specialization in 1964. After graduation, he began his work with AP in New York City and later in Washington, DC. After two decades of work in New York, Washington, Boston and Chicago, he became the AP's European photo network director in 1989, a position that took him to London.

As is typical of most careers, photojournalism profession evolved from transmitting film via wire transmission to an AP satellite system that delivers digital pictures instantly to newsrooms.

According to Horwitz, the most rewarding part of his career was always the adventures. In 1976, a cargo tanker ship broke in half and sank off Nantucket. His aerial view was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Throughout his career in photojournalism, Horwitz has never lost touch with his passion for astronomy. He has photographed 15 eclipses, most notably a 1972 eclipse off the African coast and the 1979 eclipse in Canada. Both photographs made the front page of The New York Times.