Kevin P. Coughlin
Encyclopedia
Kevin P. Coughlin is a Pulitzer Prize
-winning photojournalist, writer, director of photography, pilot, and aerial photographer. His photographs at Ground Zero following the September 11, 2001 attacks
on the World Trade Center
and while covering funerals and memorial services of fallen fire fighters, police officers, and emergency personnel killed as a result of the attacks were included in Pulitzer Prizes awarded to The New York Times
for Breaking News Photography
and Public Service
. in addition to The New York Times, his photographs have appeared in the New York Post
, New York Daily News
, Newsday
, The Philadelphia Inquirer
, The Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg News, Business Week, People
, Sports Illustrated
, Rolling Stone
, Time
, USA Today
and The Wall Street Journal
. He has also written magazine articles for GQ and News Photographer.
Coughlin grew up in the Long Island
, New York suburb of Farmingdale
where he attended and graduated from public schools there. He later attended St. John's University in Jamaica, Queens, NY from 1985 to 1989, where he studied photography and journalism. He also served as a staff photographer and subsequently as Photo Editor of the student newspaper, The Torch and interned as a photographer for Newsday in Melville, New York. After graduation, between 1989 and 1991, he worked as a freelance photographer for Newsday, the Associated Press
, United Press International
, and for The National Sports Daily under legendary sports photographer and picture editor Neil Leifer
. On August 15, 1991, Coughlin persuaded an HBO camera crew to allow him in a cherry picker for an aerial shot of an estimated crowd of 750,000 people attending a free concert by Paul Simon
in New York's Central Park. Simon saw the photograph a week later in Newsweek
and contacted Coughlin to use the image for his album and video release: Paul Simon's Concert in the Park, August 15, 1991
.
Coughlin landed his first staff photographer job with the Asbury Park Press
in Neptune, New Jersey in late 1991. Two years later, he accepted a staff photographer position with New Jersey's largest newspaper, The Star-Ledger
of Newark
. In August 1994 while covering the Woodstock '94
Music and Arts Festival in Saugerties, New York
, he was informed by telephone that he no longer had a job. Upon returning from Woodstock, he quickly found work freelancing for the New York Daily News and later for the New York Post where he remained a full time stringer until 1998.
From 1998 to 2004, Kevin became a full time stringer for The New York Times covering his native Long Island. In 2002, he was honored for his visual contributions to The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize winning series: "A Nation Challenged". His work later appeared in two Times-published books: "PORTRAITS 9/11/01" and "A Nation Challenged: A Visual History of 9/11 and it’s Aftermath." The New York Times won the 2002 Pulitzer Prizes in the Breaking News Photography, Feature Photography and Public Service categories. Coughlin was a team member for the latter grouping.http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2002/public-service/
Following a freelance contract dispute in 2004, Coughlin returned to the New York Post as a sports photographer and later as a part-time photo editor. During his seven-year return stint at the Post, Coughlin covered mostly professional sporting events and led its coverage for Superbowl XLII in 2009 and the World Series in 2009. He also worked on personal projects at his own expense, such as traveling to Vatican City
to cover the funeral of Pope John Paul II
in 2005. In 2008, he was a pool photographer during the visit to New York City by Pope Benedict XVI
and for a Papal Mass held at the original Yankee Stadium
on April 20, 2008.
In July, 2008, Coughlin left the New York Post to become the Director of Photography for former New York Mets
and Philadelphia Phillies
all-star Lenny Dykstra
's financial magazine for professional athletes, The Players Club. Coughlin left The Players Club after only 67 days, citing Dykstra's unusual and abusive idiosyncrasies. Coughlin documented his experience in an article for the April, 2009 issue of GQ magazine titled: "You Think Your Job Sucks? Try Working For Lenny Dykstra" In 2009, Coughlin appeared as a featured guest on the HBO program Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
, following up on Lenny Dysktra's questionable business practices.
Coughlin returned to the New York Post in October, 2008 as a photo editor and sports photographer, but left once again in January, 2010. and established an aerial photography business called Flying Dog Photos. In addition to running Flying Dog Photos, he regularly freelances as a multimedia journalist for Newsday on Long Island.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning photojournalist, writer, director of photography, pilot, and aerial photographer. His photographs at Ground Zero following the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
and while covering funerals and memorial services of fallen fire fighters, police officers, and emergency personnel killed as a result of the attacks were included in Pulitzer Prizes awarded to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
for Breaking News Photography
Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography
The Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography, has been awarded since 2000. Before 1968, there was only one photography category, the Pulitzer Prize for Photography, which was divided into the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography and feature categories...
and Public Service
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service has been awarded since 1918 for a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journalistic resources. Those resources, as well as reporting, may include editorials, cartoons, photographs, graphics,...
. in addition to The New York Times, his photographs have appeared in the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
, The Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg News, Business Week, People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
. He has also written magazine articles for GQ and News Photographer.
Coughlin grew up in the Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York suburb of Farmingdale
Farmingdale, New York
The Village of Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York in the United States...
where he attended and graduated from public schools there. He later attended St. John's University in Jamaica, Queens, NY from 1985 to 1989, where he studied photography and journalism. He also served as a staff photographer and subsequently as Photo Editor of the student newspaper, The Torch and interned as a photographer for Newsday in Melville, New York. After graduation, between 1989 and 1991, he worked as a freelance photographer for Newsday, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
, and for The National Sports Daily under legendary sports photographer and picture editor Neil Leifer
Neil Leifer
Neil Leifer is a photographer and filmmaker known mainly for his work in the Time Inc. family of magazines. He is generally considered the greatest sports photographer in history.- Early career :...
. On August 15, 1991, Coughlin persuaded an HBO camera crew to allow him in a cherry picker for an aerial shot of an estimated crowd of 750,000 people attending a free concert by Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
in New York's Central Park. Simon saw the photograph a week later in Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
and contacted Coughlin to use the image for his album and video release: Paul Simon's Concert in the Park, August 15, 1991
Paul Simon's Concert in the Park, August 15, 1991
Paul Simon's Concert in the Park is a live album released in 1991 by Paul Simon. It provided a survey of his two most recent albums, Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints, and also drew liberally from his earlier songbook including a number of tunes from the Simon and Garfunkel era...
.
Coughlin landed his first staff photographer job with the Asbury Park Press
Asbury Park Press
The Asbury Park Press is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state...
in Neptune, New Jersey in late 1991. Two years later, he accepted a staff photographer position with New Jersey's largest newspaper, The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
of Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. In August 1994 while covering the Woodstock '94
Woodstock '94
Woodstock '94, often called the "commercial Woodstock" or "Mudstock", was a music festival organized to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival of 1969...
Music and Arts Festival in Saugerties, New York
Saugerties (town), New York
Saugerties is a town in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 19,482 at the 2000 census. The Town of Saugerties contains the Village of Saugerties. The town is in the northeast corner of Ulster County....
, he was informed by telephone that he no longer had a job. Upon returning from Woodstock, he quickly found work freelancing for the New York Daily News and later for the New York Post where he remained a full time stringer until 1998.
From 1998 to 2004, Kevin became a full time stringer for The New York Times covering his native Long Island. In 2002, he was honored for his visual contributions to The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize winning series: "A Nation Challenged". His work later appeared in two Times-published books: "PORTRAITS 9/11/01" and "A Nation Challenged: A Visual History of 9/11 and it’s Aftermath." The New York Times won the 2002 Pulitzer Prizes in the Breaking News Photography, Feature Photography and Public Service categories. Coughlin was a team member for the latter grouping.http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2002/public-service/
Following a freelance contract dispute in 2004, Coughlin returned to the New York Post as a sports photographer and later as a part-time photo editor. During his seven-year return stint at the Post, Coughlin covered mostly professional sporting events and led its coverage for Superbowl XLII in 2009 and the World Series in 2009. He also worked on personal projects at his own expense, such as traveling to Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
to cover the funeral of Pope John Paul II
Funeral of Pope John Paul II
The funeral of Pope John Paul II was held on 8 April 2005, six days after his death on 2 April. The funeral was followed by the novemdiales devotional in which the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches observe nine days of mourning....
in 2005. In 2008, he was a pool photographer during the visit to New York City by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
and for a Papal Mass held at the original Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
on April 20, 2008.
In July, 2008, Coughlin left the New York Post to become the Director of Photography for former New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
and Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
all-star Lenny Dykstra
Lenny Dykstra
Leonard Kyle "Lenny" Dykstra , nicknamed "Nails" and "Dude", is a former Major League Baseball center fielder. Dykstra played for the New York Mets during the late 1980s before playing for the Philadelphia Phillies during the early 1990s....
's financial magazine for professional athletes, The Players Club. Coughlin left The Players Club after only 67 days, citing Dykstra's unusual and abusive idiosyncrasies. Coughlin documented his experience in an article for the April, 2009 issue of GQ magazine titled: "You Think Your Job Sucks? Try Working For Lenny Dykstra" In 2009, Coughlin appeared as a featured guest on the HBO program Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a monthly sports newsmagazine on HBO that debuted on April 2, 1995. The show was "spawned by the fact that sports have changed dramatically, that it's no longer just fun and games, and that what happens off the field, beyond the scores, is worthy of some serious...
, following up on Lenny Dysktra's questionable business practices.
Coughlin returned to the New York Post in October, 2008 as a photo editor and sports photographer, but left once again in January, 2010. and established an aerial photography business called Flying Dog Photos. In addition to running Flying Dog Photos, he regularly freelances as a multimedia journalist for Newsday on Long Island.