"Photojournalists will survive in era of citizen photogs" (?) What do you think?

[art_haykin]

Check your PBS listings locally

for this interesting program

dealing with the rapidly changing

state of photojournalism.

 

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/03/your_take_roundupphotojournali.html

 

Should be VERY interesting.

[Charles_Webster]

There will always be a place for professionals in any field. Fewer and fewer, but the best will not go away. There will always be some demand for real quality, whether words, images, or whatever.

 

<Chas>

[nolefan32]

What a shock, the world of newsgathering is evolving as new technologies enter the fray. I'm sure there were naysayers back when radio first went live, fretting the last days of the printed word. Then television, and then the 24-hour cable news networks. Newsgathering evolved each time, and newspapers and magazines each time had to re-evaluate their place in the industry. Now it's the Internet changing the face of things, and yes, it's forcing newspapers to once again re-evaluate their purpose and their niche. After all, even with PDAs, it's still easier to read a paper than the Internet on the subway, so newspapers still have a place in the world.

 

And so why should we be surprised that technology is also changing the roles of professional photojournalists? I'm sure that when photography was first being introduced into the world of newsgathering, there were those who fretted that newswriters would thus be out of work as a result. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, and I'm sure there were those who figured if we can just look at a picture of what happened, why do we need a writer to describe it for us? But writers still have a place, now working in tandem with the photographers to provide the complete story. And today, now we have the amateur newshounds stepping up and providing photography services the pros can't do. There's still photos to be taken that only the pros are qualified to capture, though. Thus there's a place for everyone. It might get uncomfortable for a little bit while everyone re-evaluates their roles and re-figures out their purpose, but the dust will settle and life will go on. Until technology brings us the next threat comes along and the process begins again. Paper-thin video, I think, so we can all have newspapers like in the Harry Potter movies.

[art_haykin]

Throughout history, so called "futurists" have been wrong far more than they have been right. One thing for sure: the future shore ain't whot it used ta be!

[work-page]

If you equate photojournalism to snapping a picture of a car that ran into a road sign, then yes, cell phone pictures of bystanders will take over. But if photojournalism means meaningful pictures to complement in depth articles, or longer running themed stories? Then clearly not.

[j_sevigny]

Anyone can by paint, canvas and brushes. But "great", important painters and few and far between. Anywone can write but how many can publish novels?

[jonj]

As a freelancer I sell my photos to the news paper. If the news paper's photogs can't get to the story or get the shot then that's what they get paid for and should be replaced.

 

This photo was just published in the paper... I had to jog a mile against freeway traffic climb a garbage covered cliff, and jump a fence to get to the crime scene. The paper didn't have anyone there or anyone who would go there...<div></div>

[cenelsonfoto]

Jones, why blur the face of the cop in <a href="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/5217847-lg.jpg">this image?</a><p>

[jonj]

He asked that I not show his face most don't care but If asked I'll do

it.

[nolefan32]

"Jones, why blur the face of the cop in this image?"

 

I've had similar requests. If there exists the potential that a cop might do undercover work in the future, you can expect them to not want to be photographed or not want to be recognizeable in the photos.

[allgone]

I just saw David Leeson speak yesterday and he showed a piece of work by a citizen journalist named Scott Kesterson. If you search the guy's name on YouTube you'll see his stuff. Apparently he mentored via email with Leeson for several months and ended up embedded for 16 months in Afghanistan and filmed combat unlike I have ever seen. I don't see it as an end to photojournalists, more of an expansion, much like how our business is now changing to a more web based vs print client and more video vs still. To me it's just part of the evolution.

[leericks]

As an economy many papers are getting rid of many of their staff photographers and replacing them with AP photos or "submitted" shots. The profession is dramatically shrinking. Will it disappear? There is a major trend to require reporters to take their own pictures and cameras are far simpler to operate these days. I think the profession will not go away but it will shrink a whole bunch.

[john falkenstine]

I rarely see any "citizen photographers" out in my neck of the woods, er, desert. Much ado about nothing.