“Tom Kennedy is a visionary and true pioneer of multimedia storytelling. His work is an inspiration to the profession and his commitment to the craft of visual journalism is unrivaled.” ~Brian Storm , President & Founder, MediaStorm
“Tom is perhaps one of the most visionary people I have seen regarding the use of visuals on the Internet. He has taken the traditional role of photojournalism and graphics from print and shown how to utilize them effectively on the Internet. He is regarded by professionals in the industry as haven taken Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive to be one of the innovative and top news sites in the world.”
~Bob Carey, Chair, Department of Communication Studies, Gardner-Webb University and former President, National Press Photographers Association
“Tom Kennedy is a rare individual who combines an acute editor’s eye with a sensitive aesthetic sense that makes him one of the top editors working today. What really makes him rare is his equally phenomenal sense of technology and how it can advance the art of powerful and effective visual communication. Tom is always on the cutting edge; he is one of the best.”
~Charles Mauzy, Digital Media Strategist, Executive and Entrepreneur
“Tom Kennedy took washingtonpost.com’s multimedia department from a supporting position to a starring role on the washingtonpost.com website, leading an award-winning team of photographers, videographers and programmers…Recognized throughout the Post family as a visionary, Tom’s outside-the-box leadership was instrumental in defining post.com’s identity and ability to become much more than a newspaper website. Finally, any manager of his level who prefers to sit at a nondescript pod surrounded by his team rather than isolate himself in a glassed-in office is leading by one of the best examples I’ve seen.”
~Liz Kelly Nelson , Managing Editor, The Desert Sun
“Tom Kennedy is one of the brightest minds working in visual journalism today and for years has been at the forefront of photojournalism and visual storytelling. His commitment to bringing the best out of creative people, great journalism and new forms of media make him a leader in the industry.”~Ed Kashi, Photographer, Filmmaker, and Educator
“Tom Kennedy gave us assignments for National Geographic magazine when our newspaper was dying. We didn’t know much beyond being B+W social documentary photographers. My wife, Melissa Farlow, and I had never really done landscapes, underwater, archaeology, natural history or even shot much color film. But Tom said it was a big tent and it had room for all sorts of disciplines. His initial trust grew to working the last 20 years at NGM. That initial trust reaffirmed for us that good photographs made you feel something… not just about the photographer… but what the subject is thinking and feeling. And that all the other aspects of photography are things you can figure out over time.”~Randy Olson, Independent Documentary Photographer
“Tom Kennedy possesses an extraordinary ability to distill abstract visual concepts and complex cultural and social narratives into an eloquent and inspirational vocabulary. As a young photojournalist, I struggled through a professional landscape within which I found little understanding or support for either the sensibilities of a concerned photographer or the discipline necessary to develop a complex visual palette. Tom’s frank criticism and sensitive guidance at critical stages of my early career reinforced my belief in photography and faith in my own evolving visual and journalistic intuitions. As a teacher, Tom combines his first-person knowledge of the highest levels of photojournalistic history, theory, and practice with a deep appreciation for both the opportunities and snares born of the current revolution in media technologies. In short, Tom provides his students with conceptual and practical skills essential to our growth as truth-seeking visual storytellers.”~Charles “Stretch” Ledford, Assistant Professor of Journalism, University of Illinois
“Tom is one of the most innovative journalists working in online news today. He has pushed washingtonpost.com to become a leader in multimedia storytelling, not only among “newspaper” websites but among all online news sites.”~Scott Anderson , Digital Initiatives Manager, Georgetown University
“As a long time teacher in photojournalism at San Jose State University and Brooks Institute, I consider Tom to be one of the industry leaders in photography and journalism. Best of all he has consistently been one of the leading thinkers in the field of visual communication. He helps visual storytellers with their story of the moment. Beyond that he is regularly looking to ground breaking ways to communicate beyond how it is being done right now. He consistently pushes the envelope to make the story telling deeper, better, more authentic.” ~Jim McNay, California-based Educator, Photographer, and Writer on Photojournalism and Photography
“Tom Kennedy has been a pioneer in the field of multimedia for almost three decades. He’s been at the forefront of visual storytelling and a force behind moving our industry forward. His editorial background coupled with his sophisticated visual sensibility make him one of the top editors in our field. He is passionate, dedicated and a pleasure to work with.” ~Nancy Donaldson Gauss, Deputy Editor for Video, The New York Times