TWiP 310 – The Sun-Times Hates Photographers
Hosts: Frederick Van Johnson, Doug Kaye and Joseph Linaschke
Episode Overview
This week on TWiP, we're diving into several great stories including:
- The Chicago Sun-Times fires its entire photography staff
- A rock band enables photographers to get the shot… for a price.
- An interview with Baltimore-based photographer J.M. Giordano
- Plus Listener Q&A and our Picks of the Week
Doug Kaye and Joseph Linaschke join Frederick to discuss these topics and lots more on this week's 310th episode of TWiP.
Interview with J.M. Giordano
This week Frederick sits down with dynamic, Baltimore-based photographer J.M. Giordano to talk about both his personal and professional work and how he keeps inspired. To learn more about the many projects J.M. has going on and to see his diverse work, check out his website at jmgiordanophotography.com. Stay tuned at the end of the show for their discussion.
Interview with Ziv Gillat
Frederick also had a chance to sit down with Eye-Fi Co-Founder Ziv Gillat and chat about the company's new Mobi SD card, and about how the photography industry is changing.
Doug: My free Photoshop actions and video tutorial for “1/4-Tone and ¾ Tone Masks”
Joseph: More backdrop recommendations: go to fabric stores and look for interesting fabrics. Ranges in width from 44″ to 64″. If head & shoulders, you may be able to go horizontal. Standard rolls are 4'6″ (54″) or nearly 9′ (107″). Prices are all over the map; I found a great one for $8.50 per yard (2 yards is sufficient for head & shoulders shot). Build a collection!
Frederick: Eye-fi Mobi Wifi SD card, Giulio Sciorio – Creating Motion Portraiture
1. Thom Hogan's article about The Sun-Times
2. The iconic photo from the Turkey Riots – mentioned by Doug Kaye
3. Giulio Sciorio's article mentioned by Frederick: “Is Professional Photography As We Know It Dead?”
5. TWiP Meet-ups are up and running strong!
Natural Landscapes Photo Contest – Voting Open
Vote Today! – The entries are in — thousands of your great photos! And now it is your turn again: click on the link below to be a part of the crowd-judging for our Natural Landscapes Photo Contest. Winners will be announced soon!
Grand Jury Prize – One 20×24 iAcrylic heirloom print: 3/4 inch thick industrial acrylic surface, stainless backed. Plus you will be have the opportunity to be a TWiP Co-Host and discuss your image LIVE (in a Google Hangout) with the other photographers on the panel.
People's Choice Prize – One 20×24 iAcrylic heirloom print: 3/4 inch thick industrial acrylic surface, stainless backed. Plus you will be have the opportunity to be a TWiP Co-Host and discuss your image LIVE (in a Google Hangout) with the other photographers on the panel.
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Connect with Our Hosts & Guests:
Doug Kaye: Portfolio Site, Blog/Reviews, Twitter, Google+
Joseph Linaschke: Website, Google+, Facebook, Flickr
Frederick Van Johnson: www.mediabytes.com or www.twitter.com/frederickvan or Google+
Credits:
Pre-production by: Patrick Reed
Post production by: Suzanne Llewellyn & Vince Bauer
Bandwidth provided by: Cachefly
Intro Music by: Scott Cannizzaro
Great show. I really enjoyed the discussion on the Sun Times layoffs. I would have loved to have heard the perspective of people like Derrick Story and Steve Simon on this because of their photojournalism experience. The only point that I take issue with is the idea that the only way a photographer can make a living from just shooting is by being a wedding photographer. This seems to ignore the entire field of commercial and advertising photography. Even with the decline in ad pages there are still more ads to be shot than weddings. On the commercial side there are also tons of small to medium size clients for imagery in every city.
What happened to the transporter giveaway? loved the show, sometimes the recent episodes make me regret my 5dmkIII and make me want a micro 4/3’d camera
As working photojournalist who has worked for Scripts League, Pulitzer INC, and Lee Enterprises, there is a major some major differences between photojournalists and other careers in photography. The most photojournalists have a college background of at least 4 years. Their salary is about $25,000-$35,000. Also it should be pointed out the biggest difference is that they are not independent contractors, like wedding and portrait photographers but are employees of their perspective papers. It is not just the photographers but editorial staffs that are getting cut. If you are a long term employee you have a target on your head because management is looking to cut costs.
Most paper staffs have been cut by 1/2 or more. To put it in the simplest terms the economic models for publications is broken. The last chain of papers I worked for in the California Central Valley went from 8 papers down to 4.
Video, and social media really has little impact it is the financial collapse of publications that is the main factor. If you read the statement by the Chicago Sun-Times they said that they are still going to use stringers but they were terminating the photo staff.
Also don’t completely believe the Chicago Sun-Times, they have been going through a financial melt down and have been caught cooking their ABC numbers. My personal guess is this an act of desperation due to them having a payroll issue.
As for the future for photojournalism you will most likely see more stringers who make their living doing commercial work as well as editorial.