Rita Reed
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Rita Reed | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Author, photojournalist, professor |
| Language | English |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | Undergraduate degree from Southwest Missouri State University & a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri |
| Alma mater | University of Missouri |
| Subject | Photojournalism |
| Notable work | Growing Up Gay: The Sorrows and Joys of Gay and Lesbian Adolescence |
| Notable awards | 1993 Nikon Sabbatical Grant, 2014 O.O. McIntyre Professorship, 2015 National Press Photographers Association's Morris Berman Citation |
Rita Reed is an American photojournalist and professor. She is currently a University of Missouri journalism professor, where has held the O.O. McIntyre Professorship in 2014. She is also known as the author of Growing Up Gay: The Sorrows and Joys of Gay and Lesbian Adolescence.[1]
Reed attended University of Missouri, where she received her degree in journalism. In addition, she also received her undergraduate degree from Southwest Missouri State University.[1]
Reed has worked as a newspaper photojournalist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and at The Gazette in Iowa, where she had 20 years of combined journalism experience.[2]
With statistics suggesting high suicide rates among gay teens and a Congressional effort to suppress the finding in 1989,[3] Reed set out to document gay and lesbian teen life. The effort became a 14-page special section in the Star-Tribune.[3] Reed's 45-picture essay, according to The Advocate, catalyzed much organizing and consciousness raising in the Twin Cities.[4]
Openly gay in the early 1990s Reed was a member of the newly formed National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.[4]
In 1992, Reed covered the Bosnian War and was captured with two others by hostile forces and held overnight until the United States Consulate intervened.[5] Her photography is inclusive of women and minorities.[6] Her book, Growing Up Gay, contains seven years worth of documentary pictures and the text is quoted from the photographic subjects.[7] Reed followed Amy Grahn and Jamie Nabozny, documenting important moments in their lives.[8]
Today, Reed teaches photojournalism at University of Missouri. In addition to being a professor, she also oversees the annual College Photographer of the Year competition run through her university.[1][9]