The New York Times Application
Photography Fellow
directory
-
Six Photography Samples
-
Harris-Walz Las Vegas visit
-
Jeremiah Aviles vigil
For: The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com Published: May 3, 2023
For this assignment, I was requested to photograph the match and pay particular attention to Greenway Demons star Kaitlyn Terry (5), who had committed to play softball for UCLA.
My photography internship with The Arizona Republic exposed me to sports photography. Previously, I had never photographed, attended, or even watched a ranked sports game. It was an enjoyable experience learning about a sport while photographing it for an assignment.
While seeking inspiration for my fellowship application, I photographed a friendly softball match between News 3 and Fox 5. Sadly, the competing station trounced us. Furthermore, my more casual approach to photography left me disappointed in the resulting photos.
Thinking back on my last softball shoot, I decided to display the gallery as one of my work samples. Photos with "REVISED-" are photos that were not submitted for the original story and edited after the fact. I had kept those photos for my sports portfolio.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, day-turn, assigned story
For: KSNV News 3 Published: July 9, 2024
During an unprecedented streak of seven 115-degree days, Harry Reid International Airport recorded the city’s hottest day at 120 degrees on July 7, 2024.
I spent an afternoon, in 118-degree heat, capturing heatwave stock photography for our newsroom on July 9, 2024.
Shattering the previous record of 25, the city experienced 43 consecutive days of 105-degree or hotter weather. During this period, I reported on and visually captured heat-related stories. I asked the growing homeless population of Las Vegas how they were handling the record heat. I looked at Henderson Fire Departments' new cooling pods that immerse heat victims in cool water. I discovered that drought-tolerant plants are not heat-tolerant. I traveled to Valley of Fire State Park to learn why summer hiking rescues are difficult for first responders. I spoke with food vendors who braved the heat while new ordinances regulated their operations. I used an infrared thermometer to measure burn-inducing, surface temperatures of outdoor surfaces. Despite record-shattering heat waves, Las Vegas was still carrying on, but even desert dwellers had to adapt.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, reporting, news writing, graphic design, digital production, pitched story, day-turn, social graphics, stock photography
For: KSNV New 3 Published: April 27, 2024
Dr. Navkaran Singh, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center, said he often recommends the activity to his patients.
“Yoga exercises are great because they’re really about that core process, getting the core stronger,” said Singh.
Singh said that yoga's slower movements set it apart from other exercises. Weight changes during pregnancy lead to more sensitive joints, so exercises that are less traumatic to the joints are more favorable.
In addition to my MMJ responsibilities at KSNV News 3, I also designed social graphics and implemented new storytelling processes for our coverage. This was my first photostory design for the station.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, videography and video editing, reporting, news writing, graphic design, digital production, pitched story, day-turn, social video editing, social graphics
Photos For: News21 Published: August 1, 2023
My colleagues (writers) and I covered the Ohio ballot box battle as both sides of the abortion debate mobilized to decide whether abortion would be protected in Ohio's state constitution. I contributed as a photographer and video journalist simultaneously.
America After Roe Recognition and Awards
-
Grand Prize - RFK Journalism Awards
-
Collaborative Journalism - SPJ Mark of Excellence Nationals
-
2 Telly Awards, 1 Webby Award, 3 EPPY Awards and another RFK Journalism Award
Individual Award - College Media Association Film and Audio Festival
-
Second place in the long documentary category
RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, videography and video editing, some reporting, assigned story
For: News 3 Published: August 10, 2024
As a digital reporter in a battleground state, I attended several campaign events. Thousands would attend Trump and Harris' campaign visits to Las Vegas, braving triple-digit heat. Paramedics responded to heat-related issues during some events.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, reporting, news writing, graphic design, digital production, pitched story, day-turn, social graphics, stock photography
For: The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com Published: May 12, 2023
A vigil was held for Red Mountain High School senior Jeremiah Aviles, who was found shot dead just weeks before graduation.
For this assignment, I was assigned as a still photographer. However, when I arrived on the scene, my editor called and asked me to film and produce a video as well. I did not have a microphone or tripod with me.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Photography and photo editing, videography and video editing, some reporting, day-turn, assigned story
additional work
With our graphics department occupied with television graphics, I was the lone agent tasked with digital and social graphics during election season. During this period, I wrote text stories and developed graphics for our social and digital platforms.
I processed everything from photo collage thumbnails to voter turnout data visualizations during election season.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Graphic design, digital production, reporting, news writing, day turns,
.png)
After dozens of hours of interviews over two months, I produced a two-part investigation into the chaotic nature of a MrBeast Las Vegas production.
News 3 spoke with nearly two dozen people involved in the ‘Beast Games’ production, many under the condition of anonymity due to non-disclosure agreements, to learn more about how poor management of local production staff led to the chaos, disorganization and safety issues revealed in our previous News 3 investigation—and even a class action lawsuit.
Production staff and set medics, many of whom were Las Vegas-based, told News 3 that they have worked on various productions in and outside of Nevada. Across their years and decades of experience, they have contributed to box-office hits with big-name celebrities, large-scale reality TV series and other YouTube productions. As locals, they would often recognize each other from previous projects.
They all shared similar sentiments about the MrBeast affiliated production they worked on.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Investigative reporting, news writing, graphic design, digital production
The Voices Listening Project (VLP) researched community news needs and deficiencies in new communications. Our data and interviews showed the importance of UI/UX for information delivery and how our communication weaknesses have affected public perception of journalistic news media. After our community surveys and interviews, we prototyped and evaluated product solutions.
I brainstormed several ideas, including story hubs, AI-focused search responses/news assistants and explanatory tooltips. We decided to move forward with a tooltip function as one of our products because of its more straightforward design. That function was the most well-received product solution among testers.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Research, interviews, data analysis, product development, community surveys
Recommendations
Recommendation letter excerpts from former supervisors
Out of an extremely talented group, Mingson again rose to the top – producing some of our best videos and photographs. He never gives up, working to talk his way behind the scenes to get the best possible story.
After spending 27 years as a writer, editor and eventually the U.S. enterprise editor at The Associated Press, and now still more years as a coach of up-and-coming journalists, I can say, without hesitation, that Mingson would be an asset to your team.
-
Executive Editor/Carnegie-Knight News21
Mingson’s skills in taking photos, videos and editing videos far surpassed those of all 14 interns who have worked for AZEdNews. His work is that of a professional colleague, not an intern.
Mingson is professional, calm, helpful, and adapts his approach to any situation as needed. He shared best practices to help us improve. He worked well with the entire Communications Team and other ASBA employees. When a member of our Communications Team left for another position, I recommended Mingson for the position, but he remained focused on completing his graduate studies.
-
Lisa Irish
AZEdNews Education Reporter
At each stage of the project, Mingson took initiative, provided valuable feedback and met deadlines. He worked well with the group and his enthusiasm for the project was evident in his contribution.
Beyond this project, Mingson has been active in journalism internships and the Asian American Journalists Association. He is a hard-working and talented multimedia reporter who will be a great addition to any media organization.
-
Kristy Roschke, Ph.D.
Managing Director, News Co/Lab, Voices Listening Project
ABout me
Mingson Lau is a multimedia reporter and graduate student at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Through visuals and writing, Lau aims to tell impactful stories that can inform, elucidate, and engage. Lau found his passion for storytelling in his high school’s award-winning broadcast journalism program, where he contributed to the morning news show and projects for Vegas PBS’ Inside Education.
At Arizona State University, Lau continued to develop his skills by working/interning at The State Press, Arizona PBS, Arizona Schools Board Association, and Cronkite News. Lau also has worked as a research aide for the Voices Listening Project, studying media needs of local communities and developing product solutions to improve news communication.
Currently, Lau is a visual intern with The Arizona Republic and a fellow in the Carnegie-Knight News21 program. When Lau is not working on a story or preparing for classes, you can find him making sushi at Japanese restaurants across Tempe.
About Me
Vegas native Mingson Lau is a visual journalist and recent graduate of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where he completed his bachelor's and master's degrees. Passionate about storytelling, Lau aims to tell impactful stories through visuals and writing, focusing on communicating informative, elucidating, and engaging news. In his high school’s award-winning broadcast journalism program, Lau found his passion for storytelling, where he contributed to the morning news show and projects for Vegas PBS’ Inside Education.
At Arizona State University, Lau continued to develop his skills by working at The State Press, Arizona PBS, Arizona Schools Board Association, and Cronkite News. Lau has also worked as a research aide for the Voices Listening Project, studying the media needs of local communities and developing product solutions to improve news communication. Lau continued his college experience by working as a photography intern with The Arizona Republic and as a visuals fellow in the Carnegie-Knight News21 program.
Currently, the Nevada native works as a digital reporter with NBC News 3 Las Vegas. He reports, films, and edits broadcast, social, and digital videos. To bolster the station's digital storytelling, he designed and implemented new processes involving social graphics, still photography, and other web elements. This includes new workflows to provide live coverage through digital-focused, field-produced photos, graphics, articles, and video. And, as the station's only still news photographer, he supplements his stories with robust photo galleries and provides stock photography for digital use.
