Colbert on photojournalists

It's a pity that many of the so-called "real" journalists on TV can't drill down to the truth of an issue as succinctly and accurately as Colbert, the "fake" pundit/journalist does cutting right to the bone through comedy. Bill thanks for sharing the link.

Of course the greater pity -- no, pity is not a strong enough word; let's call it a tragedy -- is what the Sun-Times did. Stephen hit the nail on the head. Shame on what was the hometown paper of my birthplace.

A camera -- any kind of camera, from an iPhone to a megabucks Leica or DSLR or an old Speed Graphic -- as much makes the user into a photo journalist as a quill pen or typewriter turns its owner into Shakespeare or Hemingway.

While it might be tempting to wish ill-will towards to the Sun-Times, the only reason we shouldn't is that the only thing worse than a town with only two major daily newspapers is a town with only one. Perhaps, someday, the paper will find more enlightened owners or management to right this wrong. The cynic in me says the paper will disappear before that happens.
 
Yeah, all very nice. I'd rather watch another clip: how and why does this newspaper believe it can deliver content without professional photographers.
 
Next step: lay off their whole writing staff. Simply copy and paste from (the) Twitter and elsewhere on the Internets. I'm adding the "the" to "Twitter" because that's what people who don't use it do.

Then they should stop paying for their domain name, and simply have a page on Facebook. (the) Facebook. Tremendous operating costs savings there, which are just as logical.

If they hire me as their CEO and CFO, I can streamline it according to their cost-cutting logic and align it to [insert business BS lingo they used to justify this].
 
Well, to repeat myself, and thank you Gabriel for the entertainment. This newspaper is of course not run by idiots. So there must be some explanations as to why they can continue their business without photographers on the payroll.
 
Peter Wijninga said:
Well, to repeat myself, and thank you Gabriel for the entertainment. This newspaper is of course not run by idiots. So there must be some explanations as to why they can continue their business without photographers on the payroll.
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Peter - I will not pretend to any expertise on the topic, just my interested observation and a lot of years watching. An entire generation has grown up on cheap and vapid cartoons and Barney-ilk movies. Digital games and their TV fare make them want their information in bits, not depth. Quality of photography or of writing matters little because their minds are mostly made up. Their interest in current events is to cheerlead those they already favor.

Some parents, well-intentioned perhaps, seem to want their children to exist in a permanent candy land.

Quality no longer matters. A local sign-painter spelled Pizzeria wrong on a road sign. I was told it was of little significance because few reading it knew how to spell it. And the flip side of that is how few may take pride int he work they do.

I could go on but I think we all have the idea.

But then, perhaps I have just gotten crotchety.
 
my ex worked for the Edmonton Sun here in Canada and Sun Media did exactly this years ago and continues to lay off photojournalists. What they did is gave her a 3-hour course in digital photography and a point-n-shoot digital camera and said "we aren't giving you a raise, but you are a journalist AND photographer now!". She protested that she had no interest in taking photos and that it would take away from her seizing better reporting moments in the field and doing better, more thorough journalism. Their response was basically to "find a balance".
 
Peter Wijninga said:
Well, to repeat myself, and thank you Gabriel for the entertainment. This newspaper is of course not run by idiots. So there must be some explanations as to why they can continue their business without photographers on the payroll.
Click to expand...

Peter, is that an ironic statement? How would you know it's not run by idiots ?

After all, they did do an idiotic thing.

Randy
 
Define idiot. Please.

If the public doesn't buy newspapers, Chicago will lose the Sun-Times someday and be left with just the Tribune. And, the Trib will end up owned by someone like Murdock.

Anyone remember any of these:

  • Chicago American, 1900–1939, became Herald-American
  • Chicago Chronicle, 1895–1908
  • Chicago Courier, 1874–1876
  • Chicago Daily News, 1876–1978
  • Chicago Daily Telegraph, 1878–1881 (became Chicago Morning Herald)
  • Chicago Daily Times, 1929–1948 (merged with Chicago Sun to form Chicago Sun-Times)
  • Chicago Democrat, 1833–1861
  • Chicago Democratic Press, 1852–1857
  • Chicago Evening Mail, 1870–1875 (became Post & Mail)
  • Chicago Evening Post, 1865–1875 (became Post & Mail)
  • Chicago Evening Post, 1886-1932 (absorbed by Chicago Daily News)
  • Chicago Evening Press & Mail, 1884–1897
  • Chicago Examiner, 1902–1918 (became Herald-Examiner)
  • Chicago Express, 1842–1843
  • Chicago Globe, 1887–1895
  • Chicago Herald, 1881–1918
  • Chicago Herald-American, 1939–1958 (became Chicago's American)
  • Chicago Herald-Examiner, 1918–39
  • Chicago Journal, 1844–1929 (absorbed by Chicago Daily News)
  • Chicago Mail, 1885–1894
  • Chicago Morning News, 1881 (became Chicago Record)
  • Chicago Morning Herald, 1893–1901 (became Record-Herald)
  • Chicago Post, 1890–1929 (absorbed by Daily News)
  • Chicago Record, 1881–1901
  • Chicago Record Herald, 1901–1914
  • Chicago Republican, 1865–1872 (became Chicago Inter Ocean)
  • Chicago Sun, 1941–1948 (merged with Chicago Daily Times to form Chicago Sun-Times)
  • Chicago Times, 1861–1895 (became Times-Herald)
  • Chicago Times-Herald, 1895–1901 (became Record-Herald)
  • Chicago's American, 1958–1969 (became Today)
  • Chicago Inter Ocean, 1872–1914 (became Record-Herald)
  • Chicago Post & Mail, 1875–1878 (absorbed by Chicago Daily News)
  • Today, 1969–1974
We do not, unfortunately, live in the golden age of print journalism and newspapers. A few enterprising and reasonably (that is relative of course) well-funded papers have figured out how to survive and actually do high-quality work in the digital age. How many folks on this site check out the New York Times at least occasionally via the web. The Times can still afford to employ staff photographers, but a few months ago they offered early retirement buyouts.... Most recent was Librado Romero in April. In previous rounds, there was also bloodletting. Among them:



  • Mary Hardiman - Photo desk
  • G. Paul Burnett — veteran staff photographer
  • Jim Simpson - Photo editor
  • Barton Silverman - Veteran Photographer. He's still a "Possible," not confirmed.
 
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