John Ross Baughman, known as J. Ross Baughman, is an American photojournalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for his portfolio showing the brutal treatment of prisoners by Rhodesian Security Forces personnel in the fall of 1977.
Early life and photographic career Baughman was born in Dearborn, Michigan, to Charles T. Baughman, an executive for the Ford Motor Company and Patricia Baughman. He attended Marion L. Steele High School in Amherst, Ohio, where he worked on the school newspaper staff and was the salutatorian of his graduating class in 1971.
After graduating from Kent State University in 1975, where in his junior year he became editor of the school yearbook, The Chestnut Burr, Baughman started work as a photojournalist for The Lorain Journal of Lorain, Ohio, about 30 miles west of Cleveland (now The Morning Journal). In 1976, while at The Journal, he infiltrated a branch of the American Nazi Party in Cleveland called the United White People's Party, and spent seven months recording both its activities and those of an affiliated group in Chicago called the National Socialist Party of America, headed by Frank Collin.
The resulting investigative series "Nazis in America" was initiated June 4, 1977, with a front page story on the murder of Chicago-area businessman Sydney Cohen by Raymond Lee Schultz, who had ties to the American Nazi Party in the 1960s and then became affiliated with the National States' Rights Party.Koziol, Ronald (June 4, 1977). "Cyanide Killer Harassed Jews, Anti-defamation unit charges". Chicago Tribune. The story also contained details about possible other murders and bombings being planned by Nazi groups."FBI Probes Nazi Hit List for Murder". Lorain Journal. June 4, 1977. A series of five more front-page stories ran from June 12 to 16, 1977.Baughman, J. Ross (June 12, 1977). "I Infiltrated the Nazis to Learn Their Secrets". The Lorain Journal.Baughman, J. Ross (June 13, 1977). "Nazi Internal Strife – And How They United". The Lorain Journal.Baughman, J. Ross (June 14, 1977). "What the Nazis Do – And Say in America". The Lorain Journal.Baughman, J. Ross (June 15, 1977). "A 20-Year History of the Nazis in the U.S." The Lorain Journal.Hendrickson, Dick (June 16, 1977). "A Stranger Visits a Nazi Bookstore". The Lorain Journal."Here is a Woman's View of a Nazi 'Get Together'". June 16, 1977. The Lorain Journal.
The Journal was invited by Richard T. Baker, professor at Columbia University and secretary to the Pulitzer Prizes advisory board, to submit the series for the 1978 Pulitzer Prizes."The Journal Nominated for Pulitzer – By Invitation". The Lorain Journal. February 2, 1978. "The Journal has been invited to enter the Pulitzer Prizes competition, the highest award in journalism, by Professor Richard T. Baker of Columbia University, New York, secretary of the Pulitzer Prizes Advisory Board. The Journal is responding to the invitation by entering its widely published series on the "Nazis in America". The series won a first place award for investigative reporting in the Ohio division of the Associated Press Managing Editors competition. "Two years later, he won the first-place award for investigative reporting in the Ohio division of the Associated Press Managing Editors competition."
Upon leaving The Journal in 1977, Baughman moved to London and accepted a contract with the Associated Press (AP). From there he was sent to Salisbury, Rhodesia to cover the Rhodesian Bush War.Osborne, Richard (December 23, 1977). "J. Ross Baughman: A Unique Journalist". The Lorain Journal. "After the Nazi series was published ... Ross went to London and was hired by the Associated Press." While in Rhodesia, he obtained permission to accompany the Grey's Scouts, a Rhodesian Security Forces mounted infantry unit established in 1975 to combat nationalist guerrilla forces. During the two weeks he spent with the Scouts he captured photographs of troops brutalizing their prisoners. Much of his film was confiscated by Rhodesian government officials but he successfully hid several rolls and smuggled them out of the country.AP (December 3, 1977). "American Photographer Says He Saw Black Civilian Beaten by Rhodesian Soldiers". The New York Times. "When more senior Rhodesian authorities found out who Mr. Baughman was, he was ordered to return to Salisbury where some of his film was confiscated, although he was able to get some out of the country." Three of the photographs were submitted by AP for the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, which Baughman won—at age 23, the youngest professional to win a journalism Pulitzer. "At age 23, he became the youngest professional ever to win journalism's most prestigious prize."
Rhodesian photo debate The release of the photographs on December 2, 1977 created a furore among both Rhodesian government officials and Baughman's fellow journalists, with the government claiming inaccuracies in the written report that accompanied the photos and journalists questioning both the means by which the photos were acquired and their authenticity.Kaufman, Michael T. (December 4, 1977). "Rhodesians Question Report of Brutality". The New York Times.
In order to accompany the Scouts, Baughman had to prove he could ride a horse and was required to carry a weapon and wear an Army uniform, thus making himself indistinguishable from the troops. In addition, he presented himself as sympathetic to the aims of the Rhodesian government and military.Burns, John F. (April 22, 1978). "In Rhodesia, Connections and Attitudes are Keys to Covering the War". The New York Times. While the AP stood behind the authenticity of the photographs, and Rhodesian government officials never questioned them, AP General Manager Keith Fuller expressed doubts about Baughman's methods of acquiring them. Enough speculation was raised that the photographs were withdrawn from consideration for the Robert Capa Gold Medal Award of the Overseas Press Club after the Club's Annual Awards Committee meeting in February 1978.Carmody, Deirdre (April 22, 1978). "Pulitzer Photos from Rhodesia Are Now Subject of Controversy". The New York Times. When the same photos won the Pulitzer only weeks later several members of the Overseas Press Club jury apologized for their decision, stating that lack of information about the circumstances under which the photos were taken led them to their conclusion.Chapnick, Howard (June 1979). "Behind the Pulitzer Prize Controversy". Popular Photography. "In retrospect, says John Morris, "I feel that Ross Baughmann [sic] was unfairly treated by the Overseas Press Club jury. We simply did not have all the facts, but I'm not sure that excuses us."
In September 2010 Baughman donated his Pulitzer Prize certificate, one of the cameras he used in Rhodesia and a number of prints made from the film he shot there to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History, along with other photos and artifacts collected from his career.
Career after the Pulitzer
While the debate over the Rhodesian photographs took place in the United States, Baughman continued to work for AP overseas, where he was subsequently sent to the Cairo, Egypt bureau and spent two days in March 1978 photographing a raid on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon conducted by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist guerilla group.Baughman, J. (March 26, 1978). "Behind Lebanon Lines with Palestinians". The Ypsilanti Press.
Baughman worked for AP until the end of May 1978. In June he and two partners, Mark Greenberg and Stephen Schneider, founded the Visions photo agency as part of Independent Visions International in New York City.
Visions specialized in investigative photo features which were mainly published by premier news magazines. While working for Visions, Baughman completed a number of assignments for Newsweek, Life magazine, and other major magazines. He remained with the agency as a senior partner until 1996. "In June 1978, he founded Visions, a news agency specializing in investigative photo essays by international photographers whose work was published by TIME, Newsweek and other leading newsmagazines."
Injury in El Salvador
On March 3, 1982, while Baughman and photojournalist James Nachtwey were on assignment in El Salvador covering the Salvadoran Civil War for Newsweek, he tripped a land mine while trying locate guerrilla forces.Klein, Julie (March 6, 1982). "Ross Baughman risks his life for a picture". The Lorain Journal. The accident resulted in severe injuries to Baughman's left leg and minor injuries to Nachtwey."Covering El Salvador". Newsweek. March 15, 1984. "Two days later photographers J. Ross Baughman and James Nachtwey, both on assignment for Newsweek, tripped a land mine about half a mile from the town of Cinquera. Baughman's left leg was badly broken by the blast, while Nachtwey suffered significantly less serious wounds." Baughman would later call for changes in the way journalists were assigned to cover such wars, after the death of another photojournalist, John Hoagland. He suggested that editors assign journalists to cover only one side of the conflict at a time, thus eliminating the risks of traveling between enemy lines.Baughman, J. Ross (May/June 1984). "John Hoagland and the deadly commute". Columbia Journalism Review. "To minimize the chances of another journalist getting killed the way Hoagland did, editors will have to invest in specialists who cover only one side at a time."
Leaving the press pool in Grenada
On October 28, 1983, while on assignment for Newsweek during the invasion of Grenada, Baughman left the press pool that had been formed by the U.S. Government as a means of protesting the tight restrictions that had been placed on journalists covering the invasion. He called leaving the pool a "matter of civil disobedience" and spent three days on the island.Beach, Nancy (July 1984) . "Jumping pool: Baughman stays behind on Grenada". News Photographer Magazine . On October 29, a spokesman for the Joint Information Bureau announced that Newsweek would no longer be included in the press pool. Editor Maynard Parker, while stating that he felt the press restrictions were "totally outrageous and unnecessary", also said that Newsweek would curtail further dealings with Baughman on the assignment."Newsweek is Dropped from Grenada Visits". The New York Times. October 23, 1983. Nevertheless Baughman's photo of a visit to the island by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John William Vessey Jr. did appear in Newsweek."Reagan's Kind of Hero". Photo accompanying article captioned "A four-star who knows his foxholes". Newsweek. November 14, 1983.
Work for Life magazine
From 1980 to 1996 while with Visions, Baughman was assigned a number of investigative photo essay projects for Life magazine, including the following:
"No Haven for the Last of Cuba's Outcasts" (November 1980, with reporter Steve Robinson), which examined the issues surrounding the Marielito boat refugees from Cuba being detained at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. "Saturday Night in El Barrio" (May 1982, with reporter David Friend), which focused on the lives of members of the 18th Street Gang in Los Angeles. "The Double Closet" (May 1983, with writer Anne Fadiman), about two gay fathers raising their four children in a combined household. "A Haven for AIDS Outcasts" (January 1984, self-reported with later writing by Dianna Waggoner), covering the first hospice for terminally ill AIDS patients in San Francisco. "Hunting Parole Violators" (July 1984 with reporter Ed Barnes), following undercover detectives in New York City hunt for parole violators in an environment made more dangerous by the 'three strikes' laws. "Disarmers of Terror: The World's Busiest Bomb Squad" (December 1984 with reporter David Friend), describing the work of Israel Defense Forces in Jerusalem in disabling terrorist bombs.
The Washington Times