Laid Off from the Sun-Times

Laid Off from the Sun-Times is a blog rising from the ashes of the recent photographer layoffs at the Chicago Sun-Times:

Rob Hart was replaced with a reporter with an iPhone, so he is documenting his new life with an iPhone, but with the eye of a photojournalist trained in storytelling.

I’m sure Rob and his colleagues knew for years something like this was coming, though not so suddenly, as long as those in positions of authority over their images did not perceive the scarcity of their value.

Of course, the best way to combat this is to not have anyone in such a position of authority, other than the viewer. But this is a rather newish idea in photojournalism.

The Sun-Times is my local newspaper. I haven’t read it in years. I put my trust in individuals now. I wish Rob had started a storytelling photo blog long ago and cultivated readers like me, who are willing to pay for such things, so it wouldn’t matter what the Sun-Times did.

That’s my only real takeaway so far: let the newspapers die in whatever ugly way they choose. If you don’t rely on them anyway, it just doesn’t matter. Oh, and there’s little perceived value in photojournalism to the general public…it’s a specialized field that needs good storytellers and realistic business models.