MEDIA ADVISORY: DRAGLINE

APPALACHIA WATCH

On the Ground Reporting Project in the Heart of West Virginia

January 5, 2010

MEDIA ADVISORY

CONTACT:
Antrim Caskey 304 854 7788
Mike Roselle 304 854 7372

ROCK CREEK, WV — Dragline, a devastating 74-page photojournalistic exposé of mountaintop removal coal mining, the radical form of coal mining destroying Appalachia, will soon be released by Appalachia Watch – a journalism advocacy project – and Climate Ground Zero – a pressure campaign to stop mountaintop removal coal mining.

Dragline captures the essence of this remarkable campaign – it’s an inside look at the vitality and commitment of a small group of people – considering the scope and consequences of the problem,” said Caskey, creator of Dragline.

Dragline is a photographic prosecution of mountaintop removal and an inside look at the best grass roots campaign today in the nation, period. Climate Ground Zero. The forty-six color photographs – inspire and break hearts – are punctuated with excerpts from Caskey’s reporting, which began in May 2005 while on assignment for the New York City-based newspaper, the Indypendent. Since then, Caskey has made more than 20 independent reporting trips to West Virginia, before finally moving to Rock Creek, in September, 2008, to work and live in the field full-time.

Over the past year, Caskey has documented the direct action campaign against mountaintop removal as the embedded photojournalist with Climate Ground Zero, based in Rock Creek (Raleigh County), West Virginia. In December, 2009, Caskey completed her Masters of Art in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography (MAPJD) coursework at the London College of Communication, with Distinction. Caskey hopes to expand her journalism advocacy project to include the Rock Creek School of Photography, a field project to advance and foster long form documentary photography, investigative journalism, and the printed page.

Caskey’s work has been published in a wide variety of news magazines and newspapers including the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Indian Express, the Smithsonian magazine, Orion magazine, and Le Point.

Dragline will be released on January 26, 2010. Although preview copies will be released earlier. All by mail only. Dragline will be released in an initial run of 6000. Dragline will not be released electronically.

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APPALACHIA WATCH  p.o. box 71 Rock Creek, West Virginia 25174    www.appalachiawatch.org   (304) 854 7788