An illustrious career and a ‘thanks’ to the ‘Ocala Gazette’
Photojournalist reminisces about more than 35 years on the job, including six with this publication.
“Ocala Gazette” photographer Bruce Ackerman at work. [Photo courtesy Jeff Gold]
If you do what you love, you never really feel like you’re working, although sometimes you have to endure hardships along the way.
As the “Ocala Gazette” celebrates its sixth anniversary, I find myself feeling grateful for everything.
I have been fortunate to spend more than 35 years working as a photojournalist in Ocala. Along the way, my photographs have appeared everywhere from college photography textbooks to international magazines, newspapers and books. If you look on your refrigerator, you might even find one of my photos on a magnet.
More important than where my work has appeared is the trust I’ve earned. My honesty, integrity and ethics have always meant everything to me. Throughout my career, I have tried to treat people with respect while documenting history as it unfolds.
One compliment I have never forgotten came from a law enforcement officer who simply said, “Bruce is one of the good guys.”
Another favorite came from a former “Ocala Gazette” coworker.
“When we come to ask tough questions, people see us as the police. When Bruce comes, he is the fire department and everyone is glad to see him,” I recall him saying during a staff meeting.
That comment has always meant a great deal to me. I have always hoped people see me as someone who treats them fairly, whether I am photographing a championship celebration, a community festival or someone’s worst day.
Over the years, I have been fortunate to work not only for the “Ocala Star-Banner,” but also as a stringer for AP Photos, Reuters, the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group, United Press International and the Richmond Newspapers. Before coming to Florida, I also worked on Long Island and in Manhattan, where I grew up.
When I was laid off from the “Star-Banner” in 2019 after nearly 30 years, it was one of the most difficult periods of my career. Many talented coworkers lost their jobs as well.
I never imagined I would have the opportunity to continue doing the work I love.
That is why I am especially grateful the “Ocala Gazette” was started in 2020 and that its leadership believed in me and gave me that opportunity.
I have also been blessed to receive recognition from my peers at the local, state and national levels. It is always an honor to have your work judged by fellow journalists, but they have never been the reason I do this work.
The greatest reward is knowing that my photographs have helped tell the story of our community.
A photographer captures images. However, a photojournalist is a journalist first—a reporter with a camera. Our responsibility is to document history truthfully, accurately and without bias. The photograph should tell the story, whether it captures the joy of children playing at a splash pad, a championship barrel racer, the beauty of Marion County or the heartbreak of tragedy. Every assignment deserves the same commitment to fairness, accuracy and respect.
One of the rules I have always followed is that I never get in someone’s face during moments of grief. You can tell the story without invading someone’s personal space. I have been doing this long enough to know that compassion and good journalism can go hand in hand.
Those same ethics extend to every photograph we publish. At the “Ocala Gazette,” we do not manipulate news photos beyond standard cropping and tonal adjustments, and we will never publish AI-generated news photographs or videos as if they were real.
Which means our community can be assured that they are looking at photos that are an authentic portrayal of our community when they read the “Gazette.” And, if you ever have a question about one you know how to reach the guy who took them as my email is in every edition we print. And, just to clarify, when the “Gazette” publishes photos we didn’t take or may have obtained from an agency, we make readers aware by giving appropriate credit.
Another part of photojournalism that people often overlook is the cutline. A photograph without an accurate AP Style cutline loses much of its historical value. The who, what, where, when and why matter just as much as the image itself. Years from now, those details help preserve our community’s history.
As I look back on my career and celebrate the “Gazette’s” sixth anniversary, I am simply thankful to my coworkers and, most of all, to the people of Ocala and Marion County who have welcomed me into their lives and supported our work for so many years.
It has been an honor to document your stories, and I look forward to sharing many more.
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