Collection ASU0205 - Wilson Hicks Conference Tapes and Transcripts Collection

In May 1957, the University of Miami and the American Society of Magazine Photographers held the first Wilson Hicks International Conference on Visual Journalism, nicknamed "The Miami Conference." Co-founded by LIFE executive editor and UM faculty member Wilson Hicks, this photojournalism conference dealt with "problems confronting the photographer, the writer and the editor in taking and making use of the photograph which, next to the word, is the most important instrument of communication in today's world." For three days, editors, writers, and photographers exchanged ideas about creative techniques and processes during panel discussions.

From 1957 to the mid-1970s and again from 1995 to 1997, "The Miami Conference" became a major rendezvous for visual communicators. Countless renowned speakers participated over the years, including Magnum Photos' Ernst Haas, author-photographer David Douglas Duncan, LIFE's Margaret Bourke-White, New York Times' Kathy Ryan, and National Geographic Magazine's Thomas Kennedy