Strange

Newspaper photographers 'an endangered species'

by mtippett | February 26, 2007 at 06:33 am

647 views | 0 Recommendations | 5 comments

the NowPublic / AP deal continues to make waves. Here's a quote from a news executive that references it:

Because citizen shooters vastly outnumber professional journalists - and they're increasingly aware of how to get their work published - it stands to reason that they will begin scooping the pros on more and more breaking news, thus rendering staff photographers substantially superfluous.

-- Allan Mutter, News Executive.

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the source

at 07:25 on February 26th, 2007

would it be appropriate to preserve a few of them in an organic trap like amber or natural asphalt?

nyclamusician

at 08:21 on February 26th, 2007

Citizen shooters may not always have the right equipment or the know-hows to capture shots that require manual manipulation of light/flash settings.

Plus, journalist-style photography is very popular for weddings and party albums, and that in itself can bring in some good $$$.

Actual News Geezer

at 09:16 on February 26th, 2007

I think the amber treatment The Source recommends is a bit precipitous...but with changes in photographic technology moving at a rapid pace, smart cameras that can suss out perfect settings in extreme circumstances may also put pressure on professionals.

Still, there is one advantage the pros often have over citizen photographers, generally-speaking: access. News photographers with ready-made relationships to the police, military, politicians, concert promoters, celebrity agencies, government bureaucrats, corporations and their media relations teams....not to mention being in the hire of employers who will spend money getting staff to remote locations....you get my point.

But that too may change with the ubiquity of digital cameras and computer networks.

In the meantime we should be nice to all photographers and not start to think about prematurely fossilizing them in amber. That would be cruel, as the Barenaked Ladies sing in "If I had a million dollars".

Area Man

at 09:08 on February 26th, 2007

The world will always need good photographers. If it becomes easier to publish photographs, maybe this will represent a boon for professionals as well as citizen photojournalists - rather than replacing the channels it could augment them.