| Author | Thread |
|
|
05/30/2013 08:20:45 PM · #1 |
Chicago Tribune lays off all of its photographers!
Chicago Tribune
|
|
|
|
05/31/2013 04:40:13 PM · #2 |
and the second shoe is Facebook Link
I wonder if that is a joke or he is serious... oh well.... |
|
|
|
05/31/2013 05:25:00 PM · #3 |
| Yawn. Papers are losing money like crazy. They don't want to pay 28 full time employees plus benefits. So they go freelance. I dont see the story. |
|
|
|
05/31/2013 05:25:43 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by Mike:
Yawn. Papers are losing money like crazy. They don't want to pay 28 full time employees plus benefits. So they go freelance. I dont see the story. |
You don't see the relevance of this story to a photography website? |
|
|
|
05/31/2013 05:51:26 PM · #5 |
| or to the great unwashed? |
|
|
|
05/31/2013 06:11:59 PM · #6 |
CNN did it awhile back too, saying they're okay with relying on twitter and people with cell phones on scene.
While I understand that the speed of the news cycle has changed dramatically, it's a bit depressing to me to think that the likelihood of all the phenomenally powerful news images, Pulitzer winners and all that, might be slowly slipping out of our grasp as a result. To me, the loss of these images is hugely relevant so far as culture goes. I can remember tons of Pulitzer images and strife photos in general that gave a tangible feeling to the history I was learning.
Reading the stories of things that are happening ALWAYS fails to portray it like The Boston Globe's The Big Picture or The NY Times' Lens Blog do. It's as though the world around us is increasingly available and yet we're less apt to truly understand the world at large because the deeper medium of pictures and video is largely being eroded of its professional strength. |
|
|
|
06/01/2013 09:28:42 AM · #7 |
It's the good enough malaise that is spreading around the world.
We accept journalism that thinks, U R KEWL, as a valid sentence, smart phone images as photo journalism, and then get upset when a physician doesn't get it right the first time.
We substituted "Reality TV", which is really poorly acted set up scenes, in place of honest acting and real plots.
The nothing is winning Bastian.... |
|
|
|
06/01/2013 07:03:12 PM · #8 |
| Once CNN added twitter feed as a source or valid input on breaking stories, it seems to me that the networks are broken as serious reporters. While the Tribune fired everyone, I'll bet TMZ is still paying well for quality nip slips. Infotainment is where the money is. |
|
|
|
06/01/2013 09:36:39 PM · #9 |
@mike, you're really missing the boat on this one. of course i'm biased, but i truly believe there is a huge difference between people who own cameras and people who know how to use them. and among people who know how to use them, there are huge differences between specialities. photojournalism is a skill and an art. it is a profession. and for those who practice it with integrity, it is the ability to present a true story that gives the viewer an insight that they would not have otherwise, thus helping them make an informed opinion about the world they live in.
there is nothing automatic about photojournalism. and yeah, i grates me no end to hear someone describe themselves as having a "photojournalistic" style when they have no clue what photojournalism is, much less how to do it.
this loss of talent is a sucker punch in the gut to the citizens of chicago. it's not a matter of hand-wringing over the death of print media or running around in circles about changing times. it's about the responsibility of the the media to provide the best coverage possible of the events and issues that affect our lives; and when they turn their back on that responsibility by thinking it is perfectly fine to send out replacements, we all lose.
and, in an absolutely remarkable coincidence, while i was shooting an event today, i was approached by a mother who asked me who i was shooting for. i told her i was there for the event and she thanked me, saying that what i was doing was really important and appreciated. i thanked her and she went on to tell me that she was from chicago and that a family friend, the man who walked her down the aisle, that was the godfather to her daughter, was none other than the pulitzer prize winning photographer john white who had just been laid off from the sun-times. we commiserated for a few moments before i had to move on. i left her feeling both appreciated and saddened.
|
|
|
|
06/01/2013 11:20:18 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by ambaker:
Chicago Tribune lays off all of its photographers!
Chicago Tribune |
Just to clarify -- it's the Chicago Sun-Times that laid off their photographers. The much larger Chicago Tribune still has a staff of photographers (at least for now). The Sun-Times has been on tough financial straits for quite some time (i.e., in worse shape than most newspapers). |
|
|
|
06/02/2013 01:24:39 PM · #11 |
I find it really odd that in such a visual world... who reads books now days?... They would cut the ones who make pictures rather then the ones that cut words - I mean we all know they would not cut the managers that make the poor decisions :-).
I suspect it's really a multi step process and getting rid of employees and playing the game with the IRS by using "independent" (wink, wink) contractors for the important stuff. I agree part of it is the "good enough" thing of today (been in IT that has raged for years with no signs of reversing). To be honest, most people will not notice the difference anyway - maybe that makes me/us the minority and wrong. I would bet that when the dust settles, the papers that survive are the ones that add value - in comment and photos.... maybe it's just as well this transition step wipes out all the papers that decide to go this path.
I could care less for the face grab of the local businessman to go with a puff piece but as someone implied above... who is going to make the iconic images of the future? Maybe we just have to make do with the iphone pics of the people caught up in whatever the story is that the "news" organisations can use for free but that misses the whole point.... it's not a dollars and cents thing.
Roll on a world where things like TMZ are the career path for photojournalists :roll: |
|
|
|
06/02/2013 05:58:15 PM · #12 |
Ah, but it is dollars and cents. More, and more, the bean counters have convinced the masses that beans are the only things that count.
I am old enough to remember a time when quality, dedication, commitment, design, all were important words. When the things that man made were built as the embodiment of a dream, as an expression of the soul. When teams belonged to towns, and arenas were named after something or someone we hoped we would never forget.
The bean counters have changed it all. Things are built to a price point. The individual dream no longer counts. Flat and featureless, the bottom line counts most of all.
It's all about the bean, without the bean there is nothing they say. They count the beans, carefully nurturing each and every one.
Swallow the blue bean Neo, it is the best of all. |
|
|
|
06/02/2013 07:47:19 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by ambaker:
Ah, but it is dollars and cents. |
My bad words - I was trying to say that having those images from the past is worth more then the cost to get them to society... I agree with you. |
|
|
|
06/02/2013 08:22:06 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by robs:
Originally posted by ambaker:
Ah, but it is dollars and cents. |
My bad words - I was trying to say that having those images from the past is worth more then the cost to get them to society... I agree with you. |
but who is going to pay that cost?
anyway, this is just the next step is the evolution of print media, newspapers especially are dying a fast death because they haven't yet figured out how to evolve in today's web driven world. its all about the dollar and crowd sourcing the images is cheaper.
since when did the media start caring about quality anyway? its all about getting it out in public first who cares how accurate, there is plenty of time to correct it later when no one is noticing.
Message edited by author 2013-06-02 20:22:15. |
|
|
|
06/02/2013 09:07:00 PM · #15 |
| I'm afraid people are going to pay the greater cost... Sometime when no one was noticing they stopped handing out souls. |
|
|
|
06/03/2013 07:48:54 AM · #16 |
Have you looked on CNN lately at their "crowd sourced" journalism? For the odd human interest piece, it can be OK, but even many of those are cringe-worthy. The coverage of actual newsworthy events is downright awful and makes the bias claimed to exist for "Fox News" or the "Liberal Media" (take your pick) look like small potatoes.
Originally posted by Mike:
Originally posted by robs:
Originally posted by ambaker:
Ah, but it is dollars and cents. |
My bad words - I was trying to say that having those images from the past is worth more then the cost to get them to society... I agree with you. |
but who is going to pay that cost?
anyway, this is just the next step is the evolution of print media, newspapers especially are dying a fast death because they haven't yet figured out how to evolve in today's web driven world. its all about the dollar and crowd sourcing the images is cheaper.
since when did the media start caring about quality anyway? its all about getting it out in public first who cares how accurate, there is plenty of time to correct it later when no one is noticing. |
|
|
|
|
06/03/2013 07:58:01 AM · #17 |
this goes hand and hand with photography in general. the expectation of quality is poor, from portraits to weddings to events to website to whatever, now photojournalism. People think that any GWAC who happens to be there can take a picture.
there is no respect for the craft.
|
|
|
|
06/03/2013 06:29:37 PM · #18 |
| One of the laid off photos started a blog here |
|
|
|
06/03/2013 06:31:43 PM · #19 |
I'd bet that the reporters, now equipped with iPhones and expected to create great images to go with their stories, have always had a great respect for their PJ counterparts and their skills.
Originally posted by Mike:
this goes hand and hand with photography in general. the expectation of quality is poor, from portraits to weddings to events to website to whatever, now photojournalism. People think that any GWAC who happens to be there can take a picture.
there is no respect for the craft. |
|
|
|
|
06/04/2013 12:26:37 AM · #20 |
John H White interview
Interview with John H White the Pullitzer prize winner included in this link.
Message edited by author 2013-06-04 00:27:08. |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 08/12/2025 04:34:46 AM EDT.
