Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we鈥檝e always been transparent about that.
The church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we鈥檝e aimed 鈥渢o injure no man, but to bless all mankind,鈥� as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.
Here, you鈥檒l find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences 鈥� a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.
People often ask how I decide whom to train my lens on. Sometimes it鈥檚 just a matter of where the light falls.
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Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
PURCHASE, N.Y.: Bedazzled dancers wait offstage for their turn to perform at Youth America Grand Prix, the world鈥檚 largest student ballet scholarship competition, March 20.
It鈥檚 hard to choose a favorite photo from a year of work. Is it the dapper Scottish man at the New Hampshire Highland Games & Festival with the sun reflecting on his face? The people serving time who transformed their lives by performing with Shakespeare Behind Bars, and are now out in the world and thriving?
No, for 2025, the ballerinas at Youth America Grand Prix, waiting backstage for their big moment, are my choice. The vivid colors, the lighting on their faces, their concentration, and the maturity coming through despite their ages combine to create an image that tells a story.
People often ask how I decide whom to train my lens on. Sometimes it鈥檚 just a matter of where the light falls. But the background matters, too. I don鈥檛 like clutter, so I move higher, lower, to the left, or to the right to get a 鈥渃lean鈥� shot. Photographers can鈥檛 arrange candid photographs, but they can arrange themselves to get the best composition possible. In the ballerinas photo, the positions of the dancers create dynamism and depth. And look at the girl on the right with the tilted head. For me, it would be a weaker photo if her head were completely vertical like the others.
Most of all, I look for a spark, an energy in someone鈥檚 expression. I often tell people, 鈥淛ust pretend I鈥檓 not here,鈥� because it鈥檚 optimal to record subjects acting naturally. These ballerinas barely registered my presence, allowing me to capture their grace.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
CARVER, MASS.: Workers harvest cranberries from a flooded bog at E.J. Pontiff Cranberries, Oct. 1.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
NEW ORLEANS: Tasha Cylar, a school counselor from Alabama, takes a photo of an installation at StudioBE, April 16.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
WHITE MOUNTAINS, N.H.: The observatory atop Mount Washington is covered in snow and ice, Jan. 12.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
LOS ANGELES: Lead puppeteer Ginger Duncan performs in 鈥淭he Circus,鈥� a show at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater, Aug. 31.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
LEXINGTON, MASS.: A British army soldier waits to begin a reenactment rehearsal for the Battle of Lexington, April 6.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
WHITEHORSE, YUKON: Sgt. Jim Welsh teaches survival skills on Mount Sima to Maya Poirier (left) and Leandra Brient, members of the Whitehorse Canadian Ranger Patrol, June 18.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
NEW ORLEANS: Brandan Odums, aka BMike, the founder of the StudioBE gallery in the historic Bywater neighborhood, stands near a mural titled 鈥淟ight,鈥� April 16.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
SLAB CITY, CALIF.: A woman who gave her name as Mojo holds her dog, Mr. Patters, in her self-governed camp, where residents manage their own rules and affairs and also create their own shelters, often using found materials, Feb. 13.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
GLOUCESTER, MASS.: Mia Kubicek eats ice cream at Holy Cow, July 11.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
NEW ORLEANS: Brian Belknap, the street musician behind the One Man Swamp Band, performs in the French Quarter, April 17.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
LINCOLN, N.H.: Bruce Boutwell greets visitors from Clan Rose鈥檚 booth at the New Hampshire Highland Games & Festival, Sept. 20.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
PASADENA, CALIF.: Mark Pastor and Lisa De Lange pet their cat Skinny Minnie, who spent time in the intensive care unit at Pasadena Humane after being burned in the Eaton wildfire, Feb. 15.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
ALTADENA, CALIF.: Lorna Green (left) and Nicole Moore stand with their daughter, Umalali Green-Moore, in front of their wildfire-ravaged home, Feb. 11.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
LOUISVILLE, KY.: Jilann Spitzmiller (second from right) and Hank Rogerson (standing) work on the documentary 鈥淪hakespeare Beyond Bars,鈥� while Jerry Guenthner (in blue) and Sammie Byron (in red), who were formerly incarcerated, watch baseball with retired warden Larry Chandler, July 26.
Monitor journalism changes lives because we open that too-small box that most people think they live in. We believe news can and should expand a sense of identity and possibility beyond narrow conventional expectations.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
海角大神 was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to 鈥渟peak the truth in love.鈥� Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.
Melanie Stetson Freeman Staff photographer
