Longtime Photojournalist Remembered As 'The Photographer You Most Wanted To Have Around'

MANCHESTER, CT — Jim Michaud, a ubiquitous presence in north central Connecticut as a photojournalist for the past four decades, has died.

He was 67. Michaud passed away Monday after a sudden illness. He was known for those 40 years as a face of the Journal Inquirer newspaper, with his lens capturing the triumphs, tragedies and tribulations of the region.

He also worked for the Boston Herald and founded the online site Breaking Now during the coronavirus pandemic.

Longtime colleague and former JI managing editor Chris Powell reflected on his career.

"I worked with Jim for the first 37 of his nearly 40 years at the the Journal Inquirer. He embodied the newspaper. He was so into his work and so loyal to the paper," Powell said. "He could be called at any hour, day or night, and he'd hustle to the scene of the story, often being the first journalist there. He was the photographer you most wanted to have around when news was exploding."

Powell also cited Michaud's perseverance.

"He had the courage to stand up to those who tried to prevent or obstruct news coverage," Powell said. "His contribution to the paper was immense. He was a good friend as well, someone to be thankful for."

Michaud was known for driving around the area with a variety of antennas on his vehicle that seemed to be larger than the compact car itself. He even pressured the Department of Motor Vehicles for a press registration plate to make things easier at emergency scenes.

Tolland fire chief John Littell not only called Michaud a trusted colleague, but a close friend.

Vernon Fire Marshal Dan Wasilewski echoed those sentiments while adding Michaud would never hesitate to offer images from a scene that assisted in an investigation.

"And some of those images were key to investigations," he added.

Over the years, his small dogs consistently kept him company as he drove from assignment to assignment.

Breaking news was certainly Michaud's forte, but he was equally as comfortable at a school fair or a sporting event. He was there every Thanksgiving morning for the Manchester road race in the fall. He braved the frigid temperatures inside the Bolton Ice Palace for Hockey games in the winter and was known to get a precise photo of a first baseman carefully holding a runner on during springtime baseball games.

"Jim Michaud was a tremendously gifted news photographer whose brilliant images always told the story and proved the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words," road race spokesman Rick Dyer said. "His race day photos of the Manchester Road Race were always excellent. He will be tremendously missed by the Manchester Road Race Committee and the thousands of JI readers who enjoyed his photos for so many years.?

And Michaud was there on Groundhog Day.

Michaud was a popular presence during the pre-dawn hours while a crowd awaited the season prediction of Chuckles, the state groundhog housed at the Lutz Children's museum.

He didn't speak groundhog like the mayor of Manchester, but he certainly let his images do the translations.

Said Mayor Jay Moran, "I was sad to hear of Jim’s passing. He covered so many things and I appreciate all he did for me and the town of Manchester. He was a great asset to the Journal Inquirer and the towns he covered. A real nice guy gone too soon."

A police official summed it all up.

"Jim was a great man with the unique ability to tell stories through his lens," Capt. Robert Marra of the Vernon police Department said. "He will be missed."