AP photographer’s early experiences in Washington helped prepare her to cover wartime diplomacy

By JACQUELYN MARTIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jacquelyn Martin, a photojournalist with The Associated Press in Washington, recalls how she often was one of a few female photographers covering news and politics in the nation’s capital and the fine line she had to walk to ensure access. She says that experience was useful when she was assigned as the press pooler for Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s last-minute trip to Israel and the Middle East in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. She says access is difficult under any circumstances. “It’s also less common to see women photojournalists there,” she says. “Sometimes people not knowing what to make of you works in your favor.”