Jonathan Woods
MSNBC.com
Staff
Jonathan Woods is a Minneapolis native who frustrated his parents endlessly as a child. As a result, he was shipped to an all-boys military boarding school, where he learned the value of respect and discipline. He also developed a knack for shining shoes, ironing shirts and starting trouble in a more clandestine fashion. It was in boarding school where Woods acquired his love for photojournalism.
He rose through the ranks to take over the school newspaper. After graduating he went to Marquette University, but when he realized they didn’t have any photo classes, he quickly transferred to Western Kentucky. Although he was intimidated by crossing the Mason-Dixon line, the Yankee adapted well to life in the south.
One day, after photographing a barn fire, a fire chief got him interested in the fire department. Thenceforth, Woods served as a firefighter EMT for the rest of his time in Kentucky. In addition to earning a Bachelor’s degree in photojournalism in 2007, Woods earned a respectable amount of awards, including third place overall at the Hearst Photojournalism Championships in San Francisco. He also held internships in Wisconsin, at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, IA, in Nashville at The Tennessean, and at the Rocky Mountain News.
He left the mile high city, returning to the fields of opportunities in Iowa for a staff job at The Gazette. He helped pioneer and develop their multimedia department, but still found time for good daily storytelling photojournalism, taking home a couple dozen monthly awards in NPPA’s monthly clip contest.
After two years, Woods was drafted by msnbc.com as a multimedia producer. He now lives in Manhattan where he enjoys small spaces, public transportation, cycling, cooking and adding high-tech gadgets to his already over-complicated truck.
