Ben Lowy on 'The Daily Show'

A photographer on a talk show? You coulda knocked me down with a feather.

(Longtime readers know that one of my pet peeves is that 90% of the guests on talk shows are actors, because the same people that own the movie studios own the television stations, yadda yadda yadda shuddup Mike.)

Ben Lowy on the second-best fake news show on television*. (There's a short commercial first.) He was there because he got an assignment from Rolling Stone to cover the Daily Show for an article, and they were impressed with him when they got to know him.

(UPDATE: Here's a link with no commercial that works outside of the U.S. Thanks to Carsten S. for this.) (UPDATE on the UPDATE: Unfortunately I can't check where the links work and where they don't. I've been hearing from various people who can't get to it, for which I apologize.  —Mike)

Jon talked about Ben's new book, Iraq Perspectives, which, among other things, was selected by William Eggleston as the winner of the The Center for Documentary Studies / Honickman First Book Prize in Photography.

Here's Ben's website. And congratulations to him for demonstrating on the air that not all photographers are necessarily princess-killing, predatory pederast terrorists.

Mike

*I'm not going to say what the #1 fake news show is, but it rhymes with a snoozing ox.

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Dave Levingston: "Well, it's not a first. I remember when my childhood hero, David Douglas Duncan, was on 'The Tonight Show.' The big shocks were his amazingly high-pitched voice...certainly not what I had imagined it would sound like...and the way Johnny casually tossed his prints around, dropping one if I remember right. But that one pales beside Imogen Cunningham's appearance on the same show. I don't know how old she was, but she must have been close to 90. She looked about four feet tall and wore a Mao hat with a red star. She took control of the show and wouldn't let Johnny go to commercial. He was way too wise to battle with this little fireball of a woman and just laughed and let her have her way. It was wonderful to watch. Of course, photographers were viewed differently back in those good old days."

Comments

[ILTim]

"not all photographers are necessarily princess-killing, predatory pederast satanists."

WHAT!?

I had no idea I was projecting that particular image when I told people that I practiced photography.

[Mike Johnston]

Well, I think we've written enough times about anti-photographer propaganda that's becoming so prevalent today. Although maybe I should change "satanists" to "terrorists" to be more in line with the stereotypical prejudices.

Mike

[Chris Bertram]

The "outside US" link is now "unavailable from your location".

[Howard_S]

Sadly neither link works in the UK.

[Dave]

I never thought about the "evil photographer" stereotype as the reasons for not seeing more of us on television. I always thought it was more the portly men with bad hair cuts, canvas vests, festooned with huge dangling lenses vests not being very telegenic thing.

[Rob Grey]

great clip, but it doesn't work in canada. this one does (whole episode): http://www.thecomedynetwork.ca/Shows/TheDailyShow?videoPackage=97982

cheers.

[Paris]

I dunno, I think "satanist terrorists" would be fair.

[Dave Levingston]

Well, it's not a first. I remember when my childhood hero, David Douglas Duncan was on The Tonight Show. The big shocks were his amazingly high-pitched voice...certainly not what I had imagined it would sound like...and the way Johnny casually tossed his prints around, dropping one if I remember right.

But that one pales beside Imogen Cunningham's appearance on the same show. I don't know how old she was, but she must have been close to 90. She looked about four feet tall and wore a Mao hat with a red star. She took control of the show and wouldn't let Johnny go to commercial. He was way too wise to battle with this little fireball of a woman and just laughed and let her have her way. It was wonderful to watch.

Of course, photographers were viewed differently back in those good old days.

[MJFerron]

Photographers I trust. News networks are spun as are most of the well known anchors. It's hard for the most sincere truth seeker to know what's real.

[RobG]

Hmm...my uncle, who is in a position to know, has the feeling that the paparazzi were the fall guys, and that the particular death mentioned was umm... orchestrated, shall we say, by those rather higher up the food chain than mere paps, for reasons which should be easy to work out if one thinks about the future position of the princess in questions oldest son, and the troubles having a very foreign chap as a step-father might cause if and when he rises to that position.

Talk about beating around the bush. :)

That said, it's good to see that stills photographers still have a place in this multi-format, all-moving, video-enabled glorious future we've made for ourselves.

[Paul Glover]

Annie Liebowitz was on Letterman a month or two ago as well.

[Rusty]

no video in Canada from either link:(

[Jim]

The neatest part was following a discussion about his wife's opinion of his dangerous avocation. Jon asked what she did and Ben mumbled "same thing"!

[Henk]

FYI the second link works in the Netherlands Mike, I enjoyed watching the video. Ben looks like a nice guy.

[Mike Johnston]

"The neatest part was following a discussion about his wife's opinion of his dangerous avocation. Jon asked what she did and Ben mumbled 'same thing'!"

Yes, his wife is Marvi Lacar, a photojournalist and filmmaker.

Mike

[Walter Glover]

FYI the link is not available in Australia - well, not for me at least.

[John MacKechnie]

"I always thought it was more the portly men with bad hair cuts, canvas vests, festooned with huge dangling lenses vests not being very telegenic thing."

Thanks for reminding me.....I need a haircut and I have to get my canvas vest dry cleaned for christmas. Got to get back on that diet too.

[David Grieveson]

Neither link plays on my computer in the UK.

[brett jensen]

The first best fake news show rhymes with SnowBear re-pour

[Bill Bresler]

"princess-killing, predatory pederast satanists."
"portly men with bad hair cuts, canvas vests, festooned with huge dangling lenses vests not being very telegenic.

Whoa! You guys following me?

[Aerial Photography]

Princess Killing? Satanist? Wow... I haven't met a princess killing satanic photographer yet (thanks for posting Daily Show link though, I love that programme and hate that it's been taken off More4)

[David Zivic]

I live in Cabo San Lucas Mexico and opened your link just fine. When the Huff Post mentions a link to a Jon Stewart interview I can never view it, but if i go to www.thedailyshow.com I get it just fine.

[Andrea B.]

Am I the only one who can't figure out "snoozing ox"? We are probably the only people in the state of New Jersey who don't have cable/satellite TV. Oh well.

[Chuck Albertson]

Kind of a goofy interview, but at least Stewart stuck to the pictures in the book and didn't ask him what kind of camera he uses.

[Mike Johnston]

Andrea B.,
Well, that would be an "ox snooze," right?

[g]

Mike

[kirk tuck]

That was a great link. Thanks for putting it up. Hello more books.

[John King]

Here is the clip available in Canada
http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart/interviews-a-z/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart---interviews-a/clip353989#clip582232

[Michael Eckstein]

In most cases Jon Stewarts "fake" news is closer to the truth than the "real" news.

[Branimir]

I am watching it from Croatia without commercials on this link:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/mon-december-5-2011-ben-lowy

That's the full episode. One only needs to skip to 13:33.

[Matt]

This post frustrates me.

John Stewart could have used his praise and platform to celebrate a photographer who made pictures of the actual impact the war had on Iraq.

Ben Lowy is a very good press photographer, but haven't we seen enough pictures of the American perspective in Iraq? Does that perspective need to be celebrated more than it already has by the corporate media? I certainly don't think so.

Why not focus attention on the many fine photographers who worked independently in Iraq? For example, "Unembedded: Four Independent Photojournalists on the War in Iraq" or "Iraq: The Space Between" by Christoph Bangert.

Better yet, why not focus on a photographer like Anthony Suau, who was one of the FEW photographers in America to get a book produced about the anti-war movement. "Fear This" should be in every library.

If 10% of the attention given to photographs of Americans waging war had been given to the millions of us who worked to end it, perhaps we would have ended the war before December, 2011.