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Thomas E. Franklin is an award-winning photographer, multimedia journalist, and documentary filmmaker, and serves as an Associate Professor of Multimedia Journalism in the College of Communication and Media. https://www.thomasfranklin.com/

Best known for his photographs taken at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, including his iconic image of three New York City firefighters raising the U.S. flag amidst the rubble of the World Trade Center—featured on the United States Postal Service’s Heroes stamp—Franklin’s work helped raise over $10 million for victims of 9/11 and other national disasters. LIFE magazine cited the image as one of the “100 Photographs That Changed the World,” and it is part of the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, and the Newseum. In 2002, Franklin was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his coverage of 9/11.

In recent years, Franklin’s work has focused on documentary storytelling and community-based visual journalism. His project Seeking Refuge explores immigration and forced migration and is currently exhibited virtually at the Paterson Museum. His reporting and documentary work have taken him to Central Mexico, the U.S.–Mexico border—where his footage of migrants in Tijuana was distributed by the Los Angeles Times syndicate—and to Lesvos, Greece, where he produced The World Arrived at Our Doorstep, a short documentary on the Syrian refugee crisis.

Franklin has also turned his focus to the city of Paterson. In 2025, he was commissioned by the New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC) to produce a year-long series of photo essays and social media reports documenting everyday life in Paterson, the third-largest city in New Jersey. The work depicts a community shaped by pride, resilience, and cultural diversity. Often portrayed in the media through a narrow lens—linked more to corruption, poverty, food insecurity, crime, and government challenges than to its residents—Paterson is presented here in a fuller, more nuanced light.

He is also co-creator, with Kelly Whiteside of The Pride of Paterson / Hinchliffe Stadium Oral History Project, a multi-year community storytelling initiative documenting the legacy of one of America’s historic Negro League ballparks. Supported by a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, and produced with a team of Montclair State students, the project has evolved into an interactive exhibit at the Charles J. Muth Museum of Hinchliffe Stadium, preserving the voices and experiences of athletes, residents, and community leaders connected to Paterson’s rich sports and cultural history, and the revitalization of the historic stadium.

Prior to his academic career, Franklin was an award-winning staff photographer for The Record and NorthJersey.com for over two decades, covering a wide range of news and sports. In 2007, he helped lead the organization’s transition into multimedia journalism, producing award-winning digital projects on the heroin epidemic and environmental contamination on Native American land.
Since joining Montclair State University in 2015, Franklin has developed innovative courses in visual storytelling, bilingual reporting, and immersive, experiential learning. He has led student reporting trips to Greece (Syrian refugee coverage), Puerto Rico (post–Hurricane Maria recovery), Yellowstone National Park (environmental reporting in collaboration with Edge Hill University, U.K.), Dundee, Scotland (interdisciplinary storytelling), and Costa Rica, with an upcoming program in Peru. Under his mentorship, students have earned numerous national honors, including an Edward R. Murrow Award, a collegiate Emmy®, and the Bricker Humanitarian Award. In 2017, he served as a visiting professor at UNIVA University in Guadalajara, Mexico. His student study abroad courses have been recognized by the GoAbroad Innovation Awards in 2026.

Franklin is a frequent speaker, media consultant, and trainer, and serves on the executive board of the Jérôme Lohez 9/11 Scholarship Foundation.

Courses Taught:
Multimedia Toolkit
Multimedia Storytelling
Introduction to Photojournalism
Reportando las Noticias
Montclair in Costa Rica

Specialization

Multimedia. Photojournalism. Visual storytelling.

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• Thomas E. Franklin
• Seeking Refuge