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Stephan Savoia on assignment aboard the research vessel M/V OCEARCH tagging Great White Sharks off Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Stephan Savoia is an American photojournalist who has worked for several daily newspapers and the Associated Press during his 42-year career. He has been recognized twice by the Pulitzer Prize Board as a member of two winning Associated Press Feature Photography teams.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Savoia was born in New York City and raised in its metropolitan area.[3] He earned a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam, where he majored in sociology and social theory and minored in art and photography.[4] He later completed a master's degree in journalism at the University of Missouri, where he studied under photojournalist Angus McDougall.[3] In 2005, Savoia was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by SUNY Potsdam in recognition of his contributions to visual journalism.[4]

Career

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Savoia began his photography career while working on The Racquette, the student newspaper at SUNY Potsdam.[4] After completing his master's degree at the University of Missouri, he worked as a staff photojournalist for newspapers in Monroe and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[3] In November 1990, he joined the Associated Press. From 1990 to 2005, he served as a national staff photographer based in Boston, and continued with the AP as a staff photographer until his retirement in 2018.

The 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography recognized the AP "portfolio of images drawn from the 1992 presidential campaign".[1] Savoia was the lead campaign photojournalist covering Bill Clinton’s presidential bid. The 1999 Prize recognized a collection of images from the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal and ensuing impeachment hearings. Savoia photographed key figures, including Clinton’s personal secretary Betty Currie and her attorney Lawrence Wechsler.[1][2]

Notable coverage

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Savoia's major assignments with the Associated Press included:

  • Coverage of U.S. presidential campaigns:
    • Lead AP photographer for Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, part of the Pulitzer-winning AP team[5]
    • Lead AP photographer for Bob Dole’s 1996 campaign[6]
    • Coverage of Steve Forbes’s 1996 campaign[7]
    • John McCain’s 2000[8] and 2008 campaigns[9]
    • Al Gore’s 2000 campaign[10]
  • 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona[11]
  • Major aviation disasters: Swissair Flight 111,[12] EgyptAir Flight 990,[13] and the plane crash of John F. Kennedy Jr.[14]
  • The 1999 creation of Nunavut and cultural documentation of Inuit communities in northern Canada[4]
  • International summits and protests: WTO protests in Seattle (1999),[15] 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec City,[16] the G7 Summit,[17] and APEC meetings[18]
  • McCain–Feingold campaign finance reform debates in the U.S. Senate[19]
  • Major U.S. sports: Super Bowl,[20] NCAA basketball tournaments,[21] and Major League Baseball[22]
  • A widely circulated image of Michael Jordan crying at the 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame induction, which later became the viral "Crying Jordan" meme[23]
  • Among the first AP photojournalists to use the Kodak NC2000 digital camera, Savoia transmitted one of the first globally published digital news images from the 1994 Woodstock music festival[24]

Publications and exhibitions

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Savoia’s work has appeared in:

  • The Pulitzer Prize Photographs: Capture the Moment[25]
  • Breaking News: How the Associated Press Has Covered War, Peace and Everything Else[26]
  • Flash! The Associated Press Covers the World[27]
  • Glasgow: Story of a Missouri Rivertown[28]

Teaching and professional involvement

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Savoia has lectured and presented on photojournalism at various universities and professional workshops. He served as a judge for the Pictures of the Year International (POYi),[3] the National Press Photographers Association’s Best of Photojournalism competition,[29] and the Boston Press Photographers Association’s college contests.[30] He also served as President of the Boston Press Photographers Association from 2016 to 2020.[31]

In 2025, Savoia became the president of the f4 & See It Foundation, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting impactful photojournalism and documentary photography.[32] The organization promotes the thoughtful and purposeful telling of visual stories, drawing on Savoia’s own philosophy of photojournalism. The foundation’s name, coined by Savoia, is a play on the phrase "f/8 and be there", reimagined as "f4 and See It" to reflect a more deliberate and emotionally aware approach to visual storytelling.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Feature Photography: 1993 Pulitzer Prize". Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  2. ^ a b "Feature Photography: 1999 Pulitzer Prize". Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  3. ^ a b c d "62nd Pictures of the Year: Judges". Pictures of the Year International. University of Missouri. Retrieved 2025-04-23.
  4. ^ a b c d "Alumni Spotlight: Stephan Savoia". SUNY Potsdam. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  5. ^ "Bill Clinton campaigns in 1992". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  6. ^ "Bob Dole greets supporters in 1996 campaign". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  7. ^ "Steve Forbes at a campaign stop". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  8. ^ "John McCain during 2000 campaign". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  9. ^ "John McCain on the 2008 campaign trail". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  10. ^ "Al Gore on the campaign trail in 2000". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  11. ^ "Japan's synchronized swimming duo at the 1992 Olympics". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  12. ^ "Recovery work following the Swissair Flight 111 crash". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  13. ^ "Family members gather at EgyptAir memorial". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  14. ^ "Search efforts for John F. Kennedy Jr.'s downed plane". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  15. ^ "Protesters confront police at Seattle WTO meeting". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  16. ^ "Demonstrators and security clash at Quebec Summit of the Americas". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  17. ^ "World leaders at G7 summit". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  18. ^ "APEC leaders gather for summit". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  19. ^ "Sen. John McCain speaks during campaign finance reform debate". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  20. ^ "New England Patriots' Tom Brady reacts during Super Bowl". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  21. ^ "North Carolina forward Rasheed Wallace dunks during NCAA tournament". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  22. ^ "Boston Red Sox celebrate World Series victory". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  23. ^ Barry Petchesky. "How Crying Jordan Became A Thing". Deadspin.com. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  24. ^ "Stephan Savoia". The Image Museum (Archived). Archived from the original on 15 May 2006. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  25. ^ The Pulitzer Prize Photographs. Newseum. 2000. ISBN 978-0-9799521-6-6.
  26. ^ Breaking News. Princeton Architectural Press. 2007.
  27. ^ Flash! The Associated Press Covers the World. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1998.
  28. ^ Glasgow: Story of a Missouri Rivertown. University of Missouri School of Journalism. 1983.
  29. ^ "Best of Photojournalism Judges". NPPA. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  30. ^ "2018 College Contest Judges". Boston Press Photographers Association. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  31. ^ "BPPA Elections 2021". Boston Press Photographers Association. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  32. ^ "About the Foundation". F4 & See It Foundation. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
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