Poynter Institute states there is some good news for the future of photojournalism and future photojournalists. Basically, niche pubs are the future. The flagship papers will survive because they are the core of the biz.
In realistic terms, this means there will be more need for ORIGINAL editorial content. Therefore, there will also eventually be additional jobs created for photojournalists and other newspeople.
Right now, it means additional burden on existing journalists. How much? Here is an e-mail from our head photo librarian (he only handles the Dallas/Fort Worth-area images, not other Belo metro papers):
The average number of photos published daily in Al Dia for the month of November was 32; for Quick 52.
For the The Dallas Morning News we averaged 353 photos each Sunday and 370 each Friday.
That's a lot of photos!
Jerome Sims
Photo Librarian
Somebody needs to acquire those additional 84 images. Even if each assignment netted two images (which they do not), this is an additional 42 assignments PER DAY being absorbed by staffers, freelancers and wire photographers. Smoke starts pouring out of our brains and cameras after three assignments per day. So, the company will need to hire some new people if they plan to sustain this level of productivity.
Hopefully this might parallel to the current economy. Productivity is about at a maximum, which could lead to new job creation. Each new job creates a new (or better) consumer, etc...
Personally, I am just happy I am in an "old business" where most of us keep our jobs. We don't actually have paychecks anything like you see in the movies or on television, but we make a living, pay our bills and take occasional vacations (like now). :-)
Enough for now,
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