Two staff photographers are set to lose their jobs at an independent weekly as part of a “viability” review.
The Barnsley Chronicle is currently in consultation with its two photographers over possible redundancy.
The newspaper says it would hope to retain the pair’s services on a freelance basis should the proposal go through.
The Chronicle says it is receiving more submitted pictures from readers, with reporters also taking photographs to accompany stories.
Editor Andrew Harrod, pictured above left, said: “We are in the process of consulting with our two photographers about the viability of their department.
“Such consultation may result in their redundancy – although we still see a valuable role in our products for experienced press photographers.
“If redundancy is the only option, we would hope to retain their services in a freelance capacity.
“Like most newspapers, we are receiving more submitted pictures and, for some time, our reporters have been making use of tablets, smart phones and cameras to submit their own photos with their stories.”
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Reporters, stop taking photos. It’s not your job. Newspapers look rubbish with mobile phone photos and a professional photographer is a professional for a reason.
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Reporters could reduce their workload, save the jobs of their colleagues and make their papers look better just by putting their phones away. There would have been an NUJ strike thirty years ago if a reporter had even thought of taking a picture!
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…and so if readers start sending in more letters you can sack some reporters too? Right?
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You don’t appreciate a good photographer until you see a bad one.
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sad to say but while local newspaper companies can get away with using RGC and photographs taken by reporters they will ,to use photographers would increase costs and as we all know costs savings are far more important than quality in the regional press these days.
oh for the days of professional people doing professional jobs, now its a case of dumb it down and throw it together and hope no one notices the difference, looking at the dire state of all regionals ABCs people have noticed and are voting with their feet.
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incredible that the editor seems proud to say they are using reader supplied “snaps” and those taken on a camera phone, says it all about the quality and standards at this paper. shameful
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It’s not just reporters taking pictures that is helping hammer the final nails into the coffins our news photographers. It is all the unpaid for user generated content (readers snaps) that find their way into newspapers these days. Sadly publishers no longer care about picture quality. Only the bottom line.
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We have to stop blaming ‘market forces’ and ‘ongoing digital market sustenance programmes’ and realise that much of the decline in regional newspapers is down to self-inflicted destruction by inept management.
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How ironic that at a time when the world and his wife now have the means to take a photo the general quality of newspaper pics has never been lower…
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In reply to Wazza Snapper, readers letters are usually opinions and have been around for as long as newspapers. Reporters jobs would only be at risk if newspapers started using readers to write stories rather than give stories to reporters. As for UGC pics, maybe good to tweet to readers who have sent pics by Twitter that every pic is owned by somebody and they are entitled to some money especially if their pics are later syndicated, as often happens.
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I wonder what reporters would say if “management” said that they will rely on submitted stories…!!!!!!!!!!!
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It’s pretty much ALL down to ineptitude by management @er pardon me
Whilst we cannot change how people access and seek news we could have looked at identifying our strengths and worked in those without trying to compete with web sites, national news sites or online news providers, far better to accept that and focus on our strengths: unique hyper local news, knowledgeable and respected staff who know their patches and the kind of locality not available or of interest nationally.
Instead the powers that be try to shove content into awful parochial web sites and believe the futures in digital, it is but not for the regional press.
As a result conpsnies are downsizing and dumbing down trying to paper over the cracks of lack of quality by a reliance on getting the job done as cheaply as possible with no consideration to quality as is the case with the Barnsley Chronicle .
Lame excuses and a clear indication of how much value and pride goes into it if this cheapo cheapo policy is anything to go by
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If as is quoted there is a ” valuable role in our products for experienced press photographers” why get rid of them?
There either is and if so keep them on , or if there isn’t then this is just a spineless excuse
Tell me, is this paper profitable?
Are their ABC/VFD figures good?
have they a lean efficient ad sales team?
If they have then going down the “if we can get it free why pay” route is suicidal in driving down quality and driving readers away, if not then dumbing down even further is a sign of desperation which will in time have only one outcome -fewer readers, advertisers and ultimately closure
Good luck to the two photographers affected
Mr editor I hope you’re still publishing at year end though going by your statements here I very much doubt it will be anything people want to read
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Imagine if stories were submitted and published to the same quality of those photographs submitted by readers and reporters: It would mean that poor spelling and grammar, unchecked facts or even getting the story completely wrong would become acceptable. It would be no different to those poorly-composed, badly-exposed, wonky and blurred images so often seen gracing newspapers and their websites, while their editors and owners tell everyone that they’re maintaining quality by using this rubbish.
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I suspect the people making such decisions have absolutely zero knowledge or experience of photography. They’ve probably seen, at various points, a couple of decent snaps that have been taken on a smartphone and thought: “Ooh, gosh, that’s good – so why are we paying so much for professionals?”
Now, being pragmatic for a second, it’s true that you can get passable group shots or individual profile pics on a smartphone. Occasionally, you’ll even get one that comes out looking pretty good. But it’s a lottery – you’ve got no real control over the lighting, shutter speed and things like that, so you can’t bank on them. As for anything like sports or shots with a moving subject, you can more or less forget it.
If a newspaper publisher were to make photographers redundant but hire some additional reporters, equip them all with good DSLRs and lenses and enrol them on a programme of high-quality, long-term photographic training, I might be able to take a more forgiving view of this trend. But we all know there’s no chance of that happening.
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“The newspaper says it would hope to retain the pair’s services on a freelance basis should the proposal go through.”
Alternatively:
“The newspaper says it would like to have its cake AND eat it.”
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When myself and two colleagues were made redundant from our jobs as staff photographers 18 months ago I asked our editor why he was happy to accept and publish inferior quality pictures from readers but he wouldn’t do the same for copy. He just smiled at me and squirmed in his seat because he knew I was right but didn’t have an answer. A professional, industry-trained photographer is the same as a professional industry-trained reporter/journalist. We’re professionals for a reason. Anyone can buy a DSLR and take pictures of flowers and sunsets but it doesn’t make them a photographer. Just like I can buy an expensive guitar but it doesn’t make me a musician. Sadly newspaper bosses only care about the bottom line. They’ve done away with sub-editors, they’ve done away with photographers and once they find a way to get copy on the cheap – they’ll do away with all their journalists too. Anyone fortunate enough to still work in the regional press who isn’t a manager, editor, accountant or advertising rep, start looking for a new career – it’s over…
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Everyone knows snappers pick up great stories because people talk to a man with a camera who’s taking their picture. Reporters taking photos? Do not make me laugh !
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I believe that technically, to be made redundant, the work that the employee was doing has to no longer exist. So it seems a bit of an anomaly to say that there is not the work for you anymore and then to offer them both work as freelances.
The Chronicle editor seems think there will still be enough work for two freelances, but not enough for any employed staff photographers? How does that work?
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Click bait… That’s all the editors/accountants are interested in these days. You only have to look at the websites to see the techniques to generate advertising revenue by teaser headlines with stories that contain no substance or fact but make you click “next” 18 times.
There is little “news” left now… It’s all fake adverts and scams… My local paper website has so many “(your area) boy earns £32,000 from his bedroom” and “(your area) young mum loses 3 stone in 2 weeks”…. Seriously, how long can this sustain itself… Do people still click these bloody things??
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Composition. Lighting. Sharpness. Colour Balance.
All absent from most “user generated content” snaps I see plastering over the considerable holes in local papers. (Oh I forget, PEOPLE too!)
But managers don’t care a F 2.8 about quality. Just fill the page , damn you!
It’s depressing to see this plague of apathy about good quality now eating away independents. The game is up.
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Happy snappers who can’t take proper pictures, wannabe writers who cannot write. It’s all looking good for the industry.
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I used to love circulation tussles with the `Chron’ back in the day, but this is, I am afraid is `dumbing down’ to produce a low quality, marginable cheaper product. I am stunned that Sir Nicholas Hewitt has given in to ditching quality for short-term gain. I honestly thought he had a better grasp of the long-term view and was a decent man. The `Chron’ has always been a weekly sales leader in Yorkshire due to the QUALITY of its photographs, editorial and adverts. Sad, sad days . . .
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The regional press barons arrogantly believe people in ‘their communities’ will always buy their papers and aren’t bothered whether photos are professionally taken or sent in by a member of the public ( we can’t even call them readers as many are not )
In Norfolk I and others have been contacted, usually by a junior ,by email asking if a photograph posted in Facebook can be used in the local rag, my answer is always no. I have also seen tweets asking fir anyone with stories and news to make contact.
Just sums up how badly run and understaffed the regionals are when there’s such a reliance on members of the public filling the pages
Archant even desperately and famously offered free cinema tickets for content for the Norwich evening paper!.
A News paper is like any other product offers for sale , if something you’re used to buying suddenly reduces in quality,becomes cheap and nasty and isn’t worth the money people stop buying as has been borne out by the free falling ABC figures across the industry so the sooner editors realise they’re producing an item for sale the better. At a time when editors should be doing everything they can to improve the content of the papers they’re trying to get away with amateur and inferior content ,be it ugc stories or photos, and this is the quickest way to turning what remaining readers there are away.
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The problem here is that ths is a horse that has not only left the stable but is on the home straight.
Editors should never have agreed to management demands for reporters to take pictures and shoot video. I was asked to go down this route many years ago. They got a two-word answer, the second being ‘off’. If editors did have such a lack of integrity (many did) and lack of pride in their product then it was down to reporters to say ‘no’. Sadly, they went along with it.
I’m afraid you reap what you sow . . .
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I truly hate to say this but, judging by the quality of photographer comments, would not a worse thing be to make more reporters redundant and get the photographers to write the stories to go with their pictures?
i
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I see that wearebarnsley.com is still up and running though? How many people are employed to write for, edit and run that pile of rubbish I wonder?
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Years ago reporters were forbidden to take pix except in emergency such as being suddenly confronted by fire, RTA etc and after that you alerted the office for need of a snapper if thought necessary.
Reporters always carried a camera in the car glove box – or cycle saddlebag – just in case, however.
Oh and – some of us could also do lightning sketches of the scene too.
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Adrian “imagine if stories were submitted and published to the same quality of those photographs submitted by readers and reporters”
It is already happening mate. As a proud professional, unedited or poorly edited User Generated Copy makes me puke.
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A photo says 1,000 words – that’s more than 100wpm.
What nonsense to say that only a professional photographer knows the difference between f2.8 and 1/1000. Sport will be tricky without a proper camera but that’s only a small % of the job.
The most important part is communication and finding news. News, something someone else does not know, not from PR, social media or most submitted information.
I took a photojournalism course and can write, snap, go to court etc.
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Agree with all of the above and throw in the appalling standard of captions…or lack of. Most pics could now populate a new column, or competition page…Whose Who? And still the top guys wonder where all their readers have gone. Idiots all.
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