[ MICHAEL HAMTIL ]
BIOGRAPHY
Michael Hamtil is a multimedia editor and visual team leader whose work alongside nationally-recognized photographers has shaped his passionate belief in the principles of photojournalism and the myriad ways they can be creatively applied. He is Multimedia Director at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where he oversees a staff of photo and video journalists, researching, assigning, and coaching them on their daily and long-term work. Prior to that, he worked at The Dallas Morning News overseeing both short and long-form storytelling; for news, sports and features; in still, video and multimedia formats. Previously he was a multimedia producer at MSNBC.com and Copley Chicago Newspapers/Sun Publications (both of which no longer exist). He has a journalism degree from the Univ. of Missouri-Columbia, where he has both judged and coordinated the annual Pictures of the Year competitions.
(For more, please see below)
Portrait by
Marvin Joseph
LEADERSHIP
DIGITAL INNOVATOR
Newsroom of the Future Committee
Selected as one of 8 from a 200 person staff to serve on the Newsroom of the Future "Content Committee," spending 12 weeks re-inventing The Dallas Morning News to be digitally focused.
INDUSTRY SERVICE
Contest judgings
Recent examples include:
• Pictures of the Year International (2024 Online Editing, 2016 News Division)
• W. Eugene Smith Memorial Grant for Humanistic Photography (2021)
• Solutions Journalism Network Awards (2023)
Contest judgings help us celebrate the best of visual journalism, while discussing the important stories being told and setting standards for how they are executed.
SPECIAL INITIATIVES
Historic event task force
Volunteered to research and coordinate how to republish original 1963 newspapers for a commemorative box set on the 50th anniversary of Pres. John F. Kennedy's assassination. Over 100,000 copies were sold, generating nearly $500,000 in revenue.
RECRUITING, HIRING
Impacting the future one person at a time
Who we recruit, hire, and give opportunities to is one of the most critical aspects of leadership. Elevating those voices can heavily influence which stories get told, the public understanding, and communities affected by them.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Special sections
In addition to scores of news projects, I have also spearheaded visual coverage for special sections advancing the opening of major civic venues such as the George W. Bush Presidential Library, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, and more.
EDITOR AND DESIGNER
Photo Books
Assistant photo editor and page designer for "Eyes of the Storm, Hurricane Katrina and Rita: The Photographic Story." Photo editor for a 99% complete book on the Texas Rangers' 2011 MLB season, which went unpublished after a World Series Game 7 loss.