Death be not proud....
We have stated many times in the past, professional cameras and professional photography are nearing death. In the sphere of photojournalism with all the phones and cameras always present, any event will be recorded in real time. There is no need for the pros. There's no need for the fancy show off cameras. I am surprises as how fast this is all happening. After all this is progress and it cannot be stopped. With all the money I can save on new and improves cameras I can take more trips and eat at better restaurants. The silver lining? You bet.
According to a report in the Chicago Tribune,
the Chicago Sun-Times has laid off its entire photography staff, and
plans to use freelance reporters and photographers in future to save
costs. The layoffs, which are believed to take effect immediately, were
announced to the 28-strong photo staff on Thursday morning. In a
statement issued by the paper, it suggested that the move was in
response to a demand for 'more video content' from its audience.
The Sun-Times is the oldest continuously-published newspaper in
Chicago's history, and began life in 1844 as the Chicago Evening
Journal. It has won numerous awards, including eight Pulitzer prizes,
two of which were for photography. One of those Pulitzers was won by
photographer John H. White in 1982; he is believed to be among the
full-time staff members who lost their jobs today.
We spoke to Dean Rutz - a staff photographer for the Seattle Times about today's news. Dean is from Chicago, where his father was an executive at the Tribune. Here's what he had to say:
Chicago Sun-Times lays off entire photo staff: switches to freelancers
May 30, 2013
Statement from Chicago Sun-Times
"The Sun-Times business is changing
rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content
with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and
are focused on bolstering our reporting capabilities with video and
other multimedia elements. The Chicago Sun-Times continues to evolve
with our digitally savvy customers, and as a result, we have had to
restructure the way we manage multimedia, including photography, across
the network."
 |
| The Sun-Times is Chicago's oldest continuously-published newspaper. Today, the paper laid off its entire 28 person-strong photo staff. |
We spoke to Dean Rutz - a staff photographer for the Seattle Times about today's news. Dean is from Chicago, where his father was an executive at the Tribune. Here's what he had to say:
'It's incredibly disheartening to
read news like this. And it's incredibly short-sighted. The Washington
Times and Newsday did the same thing, and it didn't work out too well
for either. It's a terrible overreach by executives who don't appear to
understand their own product. They haven't connected the dots on how
this affects their product. It's a reactionary cost-savings measure that
ends up creating other costs and problems they haven't considered. It
denigrates the product, and they'll recognize that in very short order.'
[...] Newspapers that see photo
departments as service organizations - meaning pictures are an
accompaniment to a story, versus something that stands on its own - see
that service as something that can be provided by anyone.'
[...] they don't understand the soul
these guys brought to the printed page - and that's what's about to
happen to the Sun-Times: the soul is going to be cut right out of it.
The personality of this very vibrant city is going to be lost on the
printed page. Those images that gave it character and presence and heart
and emotion will be replaced by something less [...]. There's a price
to be paid for that. It's just a question of when they feel it.'
Pure BS. The photos may actually be better, Not as contrived.
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