[1][2] Founded in 1949 by the "Father of Photojournalism" Cliff Edom along with American economist, federal government official, and photographer Roy Stryker and photographer Russell Lee,[3][4] the workshop originally sought to instruct others in photojournalism based on the "gritty, content-rich photographs" produced by the pre-World War II (pre-1939) Farm Security Administration,[4] a United States government effort during the Great Depression to combat American rural poverty.
Following Edom's credo - "Show truth with a camera.
"[5] - each workshop originates in a different small town in Missouri,[3][6] which is used as a backdrop for attendees from the United States and other countries to work on photograph storytelling methods such as research, observation, and timing.
[6] Missouri Photo Workshop faculty members have included the White House's first photo editor and NPPA Picture Editor of the Year Sandra Eisert and other prominent photojournalists.
[7][8] This list of Missouri Photo Workshop faculty includes current, former, and deceased lecturers at the annual Missouri Photo Workshop (MPW), an annual week-long photojournalism school founded in 1949 and based in Lee Hills Hall at the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Missouri, United States.