Peter

Talbot

Photographer

Editor

Reporter

Student Journalist

About Me

Good journalism comes from the daily grind. It happens in long council meetings, constant trips to the police station and getting up and reporting when practically everyone else is asleep. I will do whatever it takes to better understand the story and I won't give you bullshit when I don't know the answer.

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Email me - pjtalbot@iu.edu

My work

Profile

Shooting Back

Aron Bright is a high school teacher. Would students be safer if he had a gun?

Bright was the only teacher who testified in support of Indiana House Bill 1253, which would allow schools to use state funds to provide firearms training to teachers, school staff and employees. Bright is also a dead shot marksman. I spent hours with him on the firing range getting to know him for this profile.

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Enterprise

Confronting Truth

Marion, Indiana struggles to face
history of 1930 lynching

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The Grant County Courthouse stands in the middle of Marion, Indiana. At the northeast corner of the courthouse, pictured here, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith were lynched 88 years ago. PETER TALBOT

Riverside Drive, once known as River Road, hugs the Mississinewa River. Thomas Shipp, Abram Smith and James Cameron allegedly robbed Claude Deeter and raped Mary Ball along this road Aug. 6, 1930. PETER TALBOT

The entrance to the Grant County jail is on the side of the building. Bill Munn, Grant County historian, said this is where the mob broke down the doors of the jail to get to the prisoners. The gargoyles on the roof are not part of the original building. PETER TALBOT

Abram Smith is buried here, where the grass is lighter in the foreground, Bill Munn, Grant County historian said.  Thomas Shipp was buried in a Marion, Indiana, cemetery. PETER TALBOT

Feature

IU students mourn death of bear the squirrel

Squirrels have become my unofficial beat at the Indiana Daily Student. It started with me writing about the personalities of IU's squirrels according to a campus squirrel club in 2017. This is my latest (and maybe last) story on the beat. Animal stories tell us more about what it means to be human. They're some of my favorite stories to write. At IU, a squirrel isn't just a squirrel.

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Crime and Courts

Man gets 3 life sentences for role in Indy, Kokomo Walmart robberies

This story taught me how to construct an engaging narrative by using information from extensive federal court documents in the PACER system.

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Police investigate suspected double murder-suicide in Greene County

This story taught me how to get up and go and how to be resourceful when reporting in tense situations. I drove to the scene  half an hour outside of town. I was terrified. But, I talked to family members, neighbors and the police to get the story.

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Photography

Junior Noble Guyon of Cutters wins the Men's Little 500, followed by the teams Gray Goat and Black Key Bulls. PETER TALBOT

A member of Black Ice Cycling tries to get his bike untangled from Alpha Sigma Phi’s bike after an accident during the Men's Little 500. PETER TALBOT

Senior Calvin Sanders tells students to take their momentum to go out and fix what they know is wrong. The Black Student Union at IU organized a sit-in Thursday at the Herman B Wells Library to discuss microaggressions, which are statements regarded as subtle discrimination. PETER TALBOT

Senior Stephanie Sanchez gathers walnuts on the south side of East Third Street. Students are moving nuts across to Wells Quad so squirrels don’t have to. PETER TALBOT

A compostable Coca-Cola cup lies in the compost yard at Green Earth. Each week, IU brings 10,000 pounds of compostable waste here to be composted. PETER TALBOT

Linda Castledine sorts dishes at the Restaurants at Woodlands. Instead of trash cans, Woodlands uses a conveyor so students don’t have to sort between compost, recycling and landfill themselves. PETER TALBOT

Kate Wampler stops with her dog, Lou Lou, at Noodles & Company so Lou Lou can drink out of a water bowl. Though it is September, temperatures have been above average, reaching the low 90s. PETER TALBOT

Police respond to a call from a woman on the 1700 block of South High Street who reported she had been repeatedly assaulted over the past few days. Schools in the surrounding area were put on lockdown, but the lockdown has since been lifted and the public is not in danger, police said. PETER TALBOT

A crow lies dead in the parking lot behind the east tower of Forest Quad. Crows eat leftover grain they find in nearby fields, fruit, earthworms, and any carcasses they can find. PETER TALBOT

A car in the parking lot behind the east tower of Forest Quad was covered in crow poop. Crows were roosted in the trees above the car the night before. PETER TALBOT

Home photos and headshots by Ty Vinson