tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553278593406733377.post3919474780563572405..comments2024-03-20T00:37:30.189-04:00Comments on Photo Business News & Forum: Washington Post Co Bankruptcy Again?John Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16941161605443479300noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553278593406733377.post-35610247389828122682009-06-18T12:11:03.930-04:002009-06-18T12:11:03.930-04:00"Step 1: Newspapers around the country should..."Step 1: Newspapers around the country should be paying their freelancers a higher assignment fee than it costs to pay a staffer, and don't demand an unreasonable rights package."<br /><br />Yeah right. That's a nice dream. They will NEVER do this. The newspaper world's contempt for the needs of freelance photojournalists is uniform. They can rest assured the feeling is mutual.Chris Cumminshttp://www.glowimagery.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553278593406733377.post-7328419181703752772009-06-15T07:32:41.362-04:002009-06-15T07:32:41.362-04:00"... quality visuals will be what keeps peopl..."... quality visuals will be what keeps people reading, or in the very least, attracts people to the content in the first place, ... If a picture is worth a thousand words, why is it that photography departments everywhere are getting shorted in favor of their copy-writing brethren?"<br /><br />Two questions:<br /><br />1) Are visuals really what attracts people to the content in the first place? I would argue that it's the headline that is more important, especially with an increasing amount of web traffic coming through passed links (social nets, short-URL services, etc.) and search, neither of which (necessarily) use an image to "sell" the content.<br /><br />2) Do people (the mass reading public) really demand the high-quality images that professional photographers want to produce? I would argue that the massive increase in digital cameras has widened the gap between the definitions of a "quality image" between professional photographers and the mass public. As this gap widens, publishers are able to shift to using lower-quality images than before to fill the needs of the public, and this leads to massive cuts in staff and expenses in creating new images.<br /><br />Trust me, that's not what I want, and it's not what I think "should" happen, but I believe it is happening.Taylor Davidsonhttp://www.taylordavidson.com/writing/noreply@blogger.com