David Goldman to give annual Amanpour lecture

KINGSTON, R.I. –April 2, 2010—David Goldman, the son of a photographer, didn’t fall in love with photography until six months before his father died. “Some might say what a shame, I say what a blessing,” says the 1998 University of Rhode Island journalism alumnus. “He left this place having seen the passion that lived in him, born within me.”

That passion has translated into a remarkable career, which began as a staff photographer for the student newspaper The Good 5 Cent Cigar and a couple of weeklies in South County and has led to high profile recognition of Goldman as a contract/freelancer who shoots regularly for The New York Times, The Associated Press, and Getty images on local, national, and international assignments.

Goldman will share his story and answer questions Thursday, April 15 at 7 p.m. He will speak in URI’s Chafee Social Science Building, Room 271, 10 Chafee Road, Kingston. The talk, free and open to the public, is this year’s Amanpour lecture. Established by CNN international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, URI class of 1983, HON ’95, the annual speaker series helps the University bring well-respected professional journalists to campus.

Goldman has won numerous awards for his photos. Most recently he took four first place awards in the 2010 New York Press Photographer’s Association, all for Afghanistan. He also took two first place awards in this year’s National Press Photographer Association’s Northern Short Course. He took third place in the Independent Multimedia News Audio Slideshow in the annual National Press Photographer Association’s Best of Photojournalism contest.

Immediately after graduating from URI, Goldman interned in the photo departments of Rolling Stone and Spin magazine and quickly realized his love of photography wasn’t complete if the journalism wasn’t involved. “ I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life chasing the moment and the challenge of capturing it,” he says.

His early career included a brief stint freelancing in San Diego for the Union Tribune and North County Times. He returned to New England and worked for The Day in New London, Conn. before joining the staff of the Boston Herald where he worked seven years first as a photo technician and shortly thereafter as a staff photographer.

He returned to his native New York City in 2007 to join the Associated Press as a photo editor. He realized he missed shooting and returned to the street full time as a freelance photographer available for assignments worldwide. Goldman has covered events ranging from conflicts in Afghanistan, Gaza, and the West Bank to the inauguration of President Barack Obama. His photos have been published in Newsweek, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and Paris Match. Most importantly the awarding winning photographer says his photos have appeared on “the door of my mother’s fridge.”

Goldman’s video and multimedia work have been broadcast on CNN, AP television and MSNBC.com.

When not shooting, Goldman pursues his other passion, surfing the frigid waters of the Northeast and most recently, the longest wave in the world in Peru.