Members of the United States Secret Service help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump off the stage moments after a bullet from a would-be assassin's gun hit one of his ears during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. Photo / The Washington Post
Members of the United States Secret Service help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump off the stage moments after a bullet from a would-be assassin's gun hit one of his ears during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. Photo / The Washington Post
Donald Trump may dismiss much of the media as “fake news”, but it was the power of images that arguably secured his second presidential term.
When the Republican nominee rose with a bloodied face after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, photos like Jabin Botsford’s for the Washington Post likelyhelped propel him back to the White House.
Botafogo fans celebrate their team’s victory in Rio de Janeiro on November 30, 2024. Photo / André Coelho
Such images are reminders of the abiding power of photojournalism in a world saturated with visual content and the photograph is one of those on show in the World Press Photo Exhibition opening in Auckland this weekend.
According to World Press Photo travelling curator Martha Echevarria, the array of images tells diverse stories ranging from conflict to migration, climate change and the political state of the world – and also the often dangerous efforts photographers undertake to achieve them.
Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March last year, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar three months later. Photo / The New York Times
“The exhibition really wants to bring awareness to the state of press freedom around the world.
“We share stories that are actually very difficult to be made by journalists who work in very high-risk areas and who are often targeted by their local government or by organised crime.
“So it’s also kind of saying it’s not easy to tell the stories that you can see here today. And it is important to see them.”
A 16-year-old boy who was captured, beaten and tortured by members of El Salvador’s naval force. Usulután, El Salvador, November 8, 2022. Photo / Carlos Barrera El Faro, NPR
In a world of rapidly evolving technology – the boon of social media content and AI – photojournalism is ever more important, she said.
“We see more value in it as technology develops and AI starts taking a bigger role in generating images. There is an increasing value in something that can document events as they take place.
Brazil's Gabriel Medina bursts triumphantly out from a large wave during the 2024 Olympic Games at Teahupo’o in Tahiti, French Polynesia on July 29 last year. Photo / AFP
“There is an increased value in storytelling and people doing in-depth investigation and research because that is just something that AI cannot do, right?” Echevarria says.
In recent times World Press Photo, based in Amsterdam, has sought to foster diversity in its annual global competition by including regional winners.
This year Nelson photographer Tatsiana Chypsanava won the Long Term Project category for the Asia-Pacific Oceania region of the 2025 World Press Photo Award for her 10-year project “Te Urewera — The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People”.
Images from this uniquely New Zealand story are included in the exhibition.
Carol Teepa sits in her kitchen with her youngest grandchild, Mia, and her son, Wanea, one of more than 20 children she adopted in accordance with Māori custom to strengthen traditions and family ties. Ruatoki, New Zealand, September 2, 2017. From Nelson-based photographer Tatsiana Chypsanava's portfolio Te Urewera – The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People for NZ Geographic, winner of the World Press Photo Contest's Asia-Pacific & Oceania – Long Term Project Award 2025.
