Johnston Press is disposing of staff photographers in a swathe of newspapers across England, reports HoldTheFrontPage. Photographers are soon to leave the company's titles in Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. Most will go after accepting voluntary redundancy packages; fewer than 10 are being made compulsorily redundant.HTFP cites a Johnston Press spokesman as saying the decision to remove the photographers follows a local review "of the way photographic content is generated."There have been unconfirmed reports that the publisher is planning to do the same in Scotland.Comment: This move is no surprise. In fact, the surprise is that it hasn't happened sooner. Relying on freelancers - and, of course, citizens with smartphones - to provide pictures is far cheaper than having photographers on staff.Yes, there will be those who argue that the result, in terms of quality, will be cheap too. But I doubt that will be the case at local weekly newspaper level. Everyone can, and does, take photographs as a matter of rote nowadays. No event occurs - fires, fetes, road accidents, cats up trees, whatever - without someone being on hand to snap a picture. In the real sense of the word, newspaper photographers are therefore redundant.I concede that standing outside court for ages to capture an image of a defendant or witness may still require a professional (enter the experienced freelance). Otherwise, for the general run of the news diary, anyone can do... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
"The value of personal interaction still trumps all" is a firm belief of Steve Rosato, BEA show manager, who is all fired up for BEA 2011, the second under his command. And while the event's main focus is books and authors, technology and the digital revolution is also at the epicenter of this... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Mon, 28/03/2011 - 09:29 Waterstones is to roll out new teen sections to around 100 of its stores from April, following a pilot in four stores that began last summer. While figures were not available, Waterstones said it was very pleased with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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