Baton Rouge—NBC’s Meredith Vieira called The Photojournalism of Del Hall “a magnificent historical document,” as it charts the career of legendary journalist Del Hallthroughthe milestones ofthe late twentieth century:the civil rights movement, Vatican II, the Beatles’ arrival in the UnitedStates, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, the1968 Chicago Riots, the Vietnam War, the riseand fall of the Berlin Wall. Hall’s humble beginnings on the gritty downtown streets of Depression-era New Orleans proved an ample launching pad for a six-decade profession documenting key moments inworld affairs, all while staying ahead of the many technological shifts that revolutionized news media.
With the aid of previously unpublished photographs and stills, critically acclaimed geographer andauthorRichard Campanellaturns the focus around to the Emmy Award–winning photojournalistand presents the life of a quiet observer who captured critical episodes in American history. FromHall’s start in New Orleans at WWL-TV coveringlunch-counter sit-ins and the integration of schoolsin the Ninth Ward to his lauded work for CBS News, filming Walter Cronkite,60 Minutes,and CharlesKuralt, Campanella commemorates Hall’s remarkable contributions to journalism as the fieldexpanded from print to television.
This visually captivating and lively biography follows Hall as he is chased by the Ku Klux Klan and shot at by the Viet Cong, journeys to Moscow to cover President Nixon’s historic visit, and almost dies in a helicopter crash at the America’s Cup race. Campanella traces the life of a tireless documentarian and pioneer who not only photographed history as it happened, but also filmed one of the first full-color TV documentaries and redefined nonlinear computerized editing.
The Photojournalism of Del Hall: New Orleans and Beyond, 1950s–2000sserves as a testament to the immense impact of the oft-overlooked and uncredited role of the cameraman,rightfully placing Del Hall in the vanguard of the profession.Richard Campanella, a historical geographer with the Tulane School of Architecture, is the author of nine books, including the critically acclaimed Bienville’s Dilemma, Bourbon Street: A History,Geographies of New Orleans,and Lincoln in New Orleans,as well as numerous articles and monthly columns. The only two-time winner of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities “Book of theYear” Award, Campanella has also received the Williams Prize for Louisiana History, the LouisianaLiterary Award, the Tulane-Newcomb Mortar Board Award for Excellence in Teaching, and theHannah Arendt Prize for Scholarship in the Public Interest. He lives with his wife Marina and sonJason in New Orleans.