Shocker: News Photography Gets Worse Without Actual News Photographers
Khai Le
“It’s been a rough time for photojournalists, with many large metro newspapers laying off entire photo staffs. Quality is bound to take a hit, but does the public notice? A new study says that they do.
Researchers Tara Mortensen and Peter Gade, in a study published in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, analyzed photographs from the Middletown (N.Y.) Times Herald-Record pre- and post-layoff of the photo staff in 2013. From this set of photographs, 488 were identified as taken by a professional and 409 were not. These photos were then classified on a scale devised by Ken Kobré, a professor who wrote the seminal photojournalism text, “Photojournalism: The Professionals’ Approach.” The scale rated photos as informational, graphically appealing, emotionally appealing, and intimate.”