Abortion rights activists embrace at a protest in San Francisco following a Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. (Harika Maddala for Bay City News/CatchLight) 
An oil field resembling a dystopian scene out of Star Wars in Bakersfield. (Larry Valenzuela for CalMatters/CatchLight) 
A mother and daughter holding an image of a father lost to COVID-19. (Harika Maddala for Bay City News/CatchLight) 
A teenager looking hopefully at a classmate as they organize for mental health resources after losing a classmate to suicide. (Ximena Natera for Berkeleyside/CatchLight) 
A warehouse looming above wildflowers in the Inland Empire, changing the social, economic and environmental landscapes around it. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News/CatchLight)
This has been a seminal year for CatchLight, one in which we supported artist-led impact and helped change the field of visual journalism at the systems level, advancing nuanced and long-term representation in California and globally.
In 2022, we launched the CatchLight California Visual Desk, placing six full-time visual journalists in local newsrooms in the Bay Area and in regions considered image deserts across the state, from Stockton to Riverside.
For many of our newsroom partners, like Black Voice News, which celebrated its 50th anniversary, and India Currents, now in its 35th year, the addition of a visual journalist was truly a historic moment. It was the first time one of their staff members was fully dedicated to visually representing their communities. The impact on audience engagement has been immediate. India Currents saw readership double for its visually driven stories.
To help define the future sustainability of the field, we must also invest in individual artists and innovators, such as those we support in the CatchLight Global Fellowship. For example:
Daniella Zalcman, 2021 Global Fellow, is advancing the work of women and non-binary photographers as the founder of Women Photograph, a network of photographic talent for editors around the world.
Bayeté Ross Smith, also a 2021 Global Fellow, creates public installations and virtual reality experiences to help those working in the criminal justice system question their biases.
Images have a unique ability to draw attention and create common ground. They are an instrumental tool to the sustainability of the media and their ability to inform the public. Yet they are so sorely underinvested in and far too many visual storytellers live in precarious conditions.
To solve these issues, next year we will continue to grow the CatchLight Local Visual Desk and partner with three additional newsrooms in California. Based on nationwide demand, we will also begin planning a national expansion, with a goal of reaching 30 newsrooms by 2027.
To truly leverage the power of images to inform, connect, and transform communities for the better, it will take the power of individuals, the power of large-scale collaborations, and the power of all of us coming together to support and advance this critical work.
Images help us understand the change we want to see.
Please join us in these efforts. Support CatchLight today.
