Quotes

Some food for thought for those in the trade.


The Decline (and Maybe Demise) of the Professional Photojournalist
December 4th, 2006 by Dan Gillmor

"The percentage of REAL news published has decreased dramatically, and has been replaced with an endless stream of celebrity news and programming consisting of lame wannabes with an over-blown sense of entitlement.
Look at your news-stand any day, and see how many magazines even mention Darfur, and how many have the latest inane details of “Britney and FedEx”.
Corporate media wants to keep the general populace uninformed - distracted from anything that might reduce advertising dollars; and with the masses helping to create their own opiate - we are further distracted every day from the realities that good journalism helps bring to light."

Read the full article here


More from Trevor Butterworth:

"What is more important to the future of photography is that newspaper editors push their photographers to do better work and allow them to be creative. The number of dull photos that show up on a daily basis is unforgivable given the talent out there. Think about how the launch of the Independent in London blazed a path for some truly great photojournalism. The dramatic spot news event will take care of itself."

"Photography isn’t dead, but it’s dying due to a lack of leadership or imagination on the part of the people vested with the authority to shape the presentation of the news in tomorrow’s news products."