Behind those images is a complex process of selection, judgment, and responsibility, led by independent juries and guided by an organization that has been setting standards in visual storytelling for decades.
And that’s exactly where my conversation with Joumana El Zhein Khoury begins.
Joumana El Zhein Khoury leads World Press Photo as its Executive Director, bringing a background in international cultural organizations and a perspective shaped by growing up across different countries.
In this conversation, we lift the curtain on how World Press Photo actually works—from the judging process and the role of independent juries to the complexity of selecting images from tens of thousands of entries each year. It’s a process that is far from simple, and one that carries real responsibility.
We talk about what makes an image stand out, how stories are evaluated beyond aesthetics, and why the selection of one image over another is never an obvious decision.
But this conversation goes beyond how images are selected.
We also talk about how World Press Photo has evolved over its 70-year history, including the shift toward more regional representation and the importance of local voices telling their own stories.
Along the way, we explore broader questions around photojournalism today—how images create impact in a time of constant exposure, how trust is shaped in an era of AI, and why storytelling still matters as much as ever.
This is one of those conversations that opens up a side of photography most people never see—thoughtful, complex, and deeply connected to the way we understand the world.
So grab a coffee, take a moment, and step inside the story behind the images ☕
⏱ Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:10 Growing Up Between Cultures
04:30 How to Read an Image
07:30 From Cultural Foundations to World Press Photo
11:30 Rethinking World Press Photo from the Inside
13:50 The Regional Judging System Explained
17:00 Why Photographers Stay in Difficult Places
18:20 How the Judging Process Works
21:40 Choosing the Photo of the Year
27:00 The Weight of Images & Responsibility
30:00 70 Years of World Press Photo
34:00 Authenticity, AI & the Future of Photography
40:00 The Joop Swart Masterclass
45:00 Personal Reflections & Creativity
🔗 World Press Photo
Website: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldpressphoto/
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