Jonah M. Kessel is a seasoned visual journalist and photographer based in New York, with over 30 years of experience in field experience creating non-fiction films in over 30 countries. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting in 2013 and the Innovative Storytelling Award from the National Press Foundation.

Kessel has studied Liberal Arts at Tulane University, Visual Journalism at James Cook University, Media Studies at Massey University, and Journalism and Mass Communications, New Media, Journalism, 3.7 at Saint Michael's College.

He is currently the Director of Cinematography at The New York Times, managing strategy of aesthetic and technology as well as a team of Times video journalists specializing in camera technologies. He is also an FAA licensed drone pilot and a trained gimbal operator, an expert in science-based cameras such as the Phantom Flex4k (high speed), and fluent in both Canon and Sony camera systems.

Kessel has a love for studio production and lighting design and runs the Times video studio, a 40” by 24.5” production space at the Times headquarters in midtown Manhattan. His video journalism is a hybrid of explanatory and investigative short form documentaries and other innovative forms of visual journalism, reflecting his passion for storytelling and innovative storytelling techniques.