Washington Times Slashes Newsroom Staff, Wipes Out Photo Department

[easyrider]

It is unfortunate for anyone to lose their job but we live in a changing world and the job of newspaper photographer -- as we have known it up to now -- is not going to exist much longer. Many of the reasons are spelled out above.

Photographers will have to find new niches and it is not going to be easy. The newspapers themselves have missed the boat on digital and so have the TV networks.

They did not see Craiglist, Kijiji and Youtibe coming and they are being overtaken in all the traditional news dissemination areas.

Even book publishers and being crowded by Kindle and Sony Reader.

It may mean no more free web down the road or some other business model. But no more guys with Speed Graphics, Nikons, Canons fed by film.

 

[wlewisiii]

The Times is currently a battlefield of a power struggle in the Moonie cult. I'd wait for awhile before considering if these cuts mean anything more than over who is maybe winning control back in Korea.

William

 

[majid]

Thats cause you cant put a political spin on sports, might as well do it honestly and good. lol

The ancient Greeks considered the Olympic Games to be the continuation of war by other means. The Communist bloc countries certainly did.

Professional opportunities for photographers seem to be shrinking constantly outside the worlds of product and wedding photography.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The ancient Greeks considered the Olympic Games to be the continuation of war by other means. The Communist bloc countries certainly did.

Professional opportunities for photographers seem to be shrinking constantly outside the worlds of product and wedding photography.

Thats true, Majid. I was thinking of their coverage of popular American sports leagues like the NFL, the NBA, and Major League Baseball. These sports are totally non-political and people of all political beliefs here enjoy them. International sports events like the Olympics are definately political and American newspapers and TV news shows certainly put a patriotic spin on the performance of American participants.

Even product work is getting harder to get; many companies are handing a $500 D-SLR to an employee who does photography as a hobby and settling for that to save money. 🙁

 

[majid]

Even product work is getting harder to get; many companies are handing a $500 D-SLR to an employee who does photography as a hobby and settling for that to save money. 🙁

And then those companies act all surprised when sales languish because they skimped on an immaterial portion of a multi-million dollar ad budget...

 

[oftheherd]

I am also saddened by all the loss of jobs.

However, we need to remember that technology moves on. When you could cast metal arrow points, there wasn't much need for flint knappers either. Blacksmiths lost out to the horseless carraige.

Clever people recognize the changes and retrain, even when it isn't fun or as rewarding. At least it pays the bills.

 

[newspaperguy]

William wrote, "...The Times is currently a battlefield of a power struggle... I'd wait for awhile before considering if these cuts mean anything more than over who is maybe winning control ."

I may be mistaken, but I think the point was about good professional photographers losing their jobs, not about any of our perceiveded polititical/religious predjudicies.

 

[aizan]

Dear Jim,

Exactly. It's not like there's any skill involved, after all.

Cheers,

R.

i kinda like camera phone photojournalism. it's more natural, less contrived. you see things you never would have seen before.

 

[MichaelHarris]

Moonie Times

 

[wgerrard]

The Washington Times has been in financial straits for some time. These cuts are not surprising. It's tough to be canned, but it shouldn't have been a surprise.