A Photo Finish at the Sun Times?

Chicago Sun Times (Photo credit: stu_spivack)

The Chicago Sun Times recently and suddenly laid off all 28 people in its full-time photography staff.  This included photographers and editors for its flagship paper and all of its suburban papers.

My first reaction was how could that only be 28 people?  To cover all of Chicagoland?  Including the suburbs?

My second reaction was this must be the beginning of the end for a once venerable major market newspaper.  How long can the Chicago Sun Times last without photographers and photo editors?  After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, reporters are going to have to write a lot more to make up for missing photos.  Right?

Not so, says the leadership at the Sun Times.  Freelancers and reporters will provide plenty of photos, they say.  Plus, the move was precipitated by a shift to more video content for its online presence.

So, in reality, this move is the start of a new beginning for the newspaper that started in Chicago almost 170 years ago.  This move should be seen as a bold move into the brave, sorta new world of online journalism.  This is a move forward; a positive future-affirming strategic step.  So says the leadership of the Sun Times Media Group, the Sun Times parent organization.

As a subscriber of two daily and two weekly newspapers (not the Sun Times though because they stopped delivering where I live many years ago), I hope they are right.  

As a believer in the importance of having multiple journalistic voices in a community, I hope they are right.

As a lover of photography, including photojournalism, I suspect that they are wrong.  I am afraid that the Sun Times leadership will soon find the power that amazing photography has to draw readers and attention to their publication.  And that the lack of it will make it easier to ignore their publication.  I suspect they will learn that there are some stories that need to be told pictorially to really have an impact.  I worry that other newspapers will follow suit and will count on writers, presumably with their cellphones, to snap pictures while they are trying to get a story, forcing them to do neither as well as they could.

I hope that this is just a strategic move and that the Sun Times continues their long and fruitful contribution to Chicago journalism.  I worry that this is another sign of the slow, creeping demise of print journalism.

I can just picture it.

Related articles

• Photos: Protest over fired photo staff at Chicago Sun-Times
• Chicago Sun-Times lays off entire photography staff

The Many P's of Marketing: Photography

Marketing has gotten more and more nuanced, as new technologies and strategies have opened up many options for marketers.  It is my contention that today, the marketing mix contains much more than the traditional four or five P's that are taught in school.  In this series I am exploring the Many P's of Marketing.

As I explore the diversity of P's in Marketing, I felt it was worthwhile to explore a diversity of perspectives as well.  I have asked a handful of people I respect to select a P of Marketing and write about it.  Today's blog on Photography is guest written by Robin Pendergrast, the owner and President of  Robin F. Pendergrast Photography, Inc. and Robin F. Pendergrast Production.  Thank you Robin!

Photography: The professional photography or imaging world doesn’t have a day go by without an inquiry about the multiplicity of changes that have taken place since the introduction of digital imagery. 

Thoroughly understanding the capabilities of the equipment and the ability and the creative opportunities that can unfold with this new technology takes constant attention to changes in both hardware and software.

As a professional, the challenge is in knowing how to address the almost daily “can you do this?” question.  And while the answer most of the time is yes, part of the response requires a continuing enhancement of the knowledge of just what the possibilities are.

Digital photography puts very little in the way of imagination on hold. When you compound the digital hardware with the software that is available, a whole new creative world unfolds.  Since my evolution into 100% dedicated digital imagery approximately five years ago, every day is part of an exciting and, naturally, challenging imagining process for clients. 

The conventional capture of images for events, activities and specific assignments for individuals or corporations will always exist.  But the unfettered capabilities of digital imagery allow the photographer to cover new ground in these conventional assignments and help us meet and exceed the communications and marketing imagery needs of a client.  With digital photography, my photography can now more closely match the imagination of my clients!

                                                                             

The world of professional digital photography is exciting.  And challenging.  The passion to learn and to accept the challenge keeps the world of photography, especially to the digital photographer, an exciting world in which to operate.

You can learn more about Robin and Robin F. Pendergrast Photography at http://www.rfpphoto.com/ 
You can see some of Robin's photography at http://pinterest.com/rfpphotography/