Brian Kratzer

Brian Wayne Kratzer, 56, a professor at the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia died Sept. 13, 2026.

Kratzer was director of photography for the Columbia Missourian and a professor of journalism at the University of Missouri, teaching students the narrative power of photography. He was also the director of the Missouri Photo Workshop, the weeklong event where photojournalists canvas a rural Missouri town to find and tell visual stories and receive coaching.

He began his journalism career as a teenage photographer for his hometown newspaper, the McPherson Sentinel in Kansas, driving around after school looking for feature photos. A Kansas State University alum, Kratzer majored in journalism and worked on the Collegian newspaper there.

His first job out of college was as photo editor at the Moscow-Pullman Daily News in Idaho, but in 1996, Brian and wife Renee moved to Columbia, Missouri, where he worked as a staff photographer and photography editor at the Daily Tribune.

Kratzer also earned his master’s from Mizzou and covered stories for Missouri Life Magazine. In 2005, Kratzer took a job as director of photography with the Gainesville Sun in Florida before returning to Missouri to join the staff at the journalism school.

Through the years, Kratzer presented at various Missouri Press meetings and was a vital part of the annual Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame induction.

In addition to his wife, Renee Martin-Kratzer, he is survived by four children, Kedzie, Zoe, Owen and Zackary Kratzer; his parents, Robbin and Valerie; and many more family, friends and colleagues from throughout Missouri and beyond.