Photo Cuts The New York Daily News this week laid off its entire team of staff photographers — 10 men and women who on a daily basis chronicled the lives and happenings of 8.5 million New Yorkers. The cuts, part of a newsroom-wide culling of 50 percent ordered by the parent company, Tronc Inc., not only meant that photographers Anthony DelMundo, Debbie Egan-Chin, James Keivom, Todd Maisel, Ken Murray, Andrew Savulich, Howard Simmons, Susan Watts, Marcus Santos and Jefferson Siegel have lost their jobs, they also are a blow to the future of local news in New York. "We're the front lines," Santos told the National Press Photographers' Association. "We tell them what is going on, and they send a reporter." It's particularly distressing to see a newspaper whose entire identity was built around photography — its logo is an old-fashioned camera — resort to such draconian cost-saving measures. But the Daily News joins a long list of local newspapers to cull the ranks of their photo departments — from the Chicago Sun-Times to the Denver Post. Such cuts often don't result in these newspapers hiring more freelancers. Instead, too often reporters are relied upon to take pictures with their phones. The quality suffers as a result (to no fault of the writers who cannot be expected to instantly master photography skills, even such basic ones as composition and lighting). Tronc's cuts have been decried by many, including New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D), who pleaded with the Chicago-based company to change its mind. No one expects this will happen. I, however, have little doubt that history will show Tronc's decision to be a mistake for the Daily News's long-term journalistic mission and financial goals. - Olivier Laurent |
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