Where have all the photogs gone? Posted on December 13, 2023 at 00:53:54 AM by Yesteryears news
Well dont' know her, but most folks don't leave a good job without a better one unless there' sometthing out of control they must deal with, e.g. family health or their own, or some kind of job decision they have no control over.
Business isn't so good for affiliate/corporate broadcasting. When I was young they were growing buy leaps and bounds but for an occasional adv recession. Quality has noticibly fallen with all this innovation and corporate disorder. In TV it affects news decisiions all the way to the networks. They don't get much content from affiliates, I suppose due to their staff cuts. Ya can't broadcast what the feeder stations aren't enterprising.
I dont thinke the audience interests have changed, only the choices where they can look and learn at the world. News gathering staffs are a fraction of what they used to be and it shows on the air both locally, and what the networks fill their airtime with. Its all politics and what they do get from the hinterllands, they fly in and get it themselves. I rarely see local station people cutting stories for the networks; lots us would do a story worthy of national interest, recut a bit of it and sent it to the network on spec, and if they liked it, they'd send you a $300-500 check. I did it a lot, covering utilities, retail, storms, even aviation of general interest.
Is that still going on or is there just ery little general journalism being done to feed the networks, other than sending in raw storm clips? I do notice most storm coverage on the networks is just a few shots repeated over and over usually from a hand held, unsteady camera that looks more like outtakes than deliberate photojournalism. Photogs used to be downright cinemetographic practicing their craft. Now it looks alot like I shot it, not a guy with 10 years experience and an artistic eye. It was fun being around that level of pride--old radio guy that I was when I got in it. Most of the awards I've won over the years weren't for journalsm as much a sthey were for producing stories that won film festival or NPPA awards...won by my sidekick doing the art, and me just a bit of narration. But in those days, they look good on my wall too! A chief photog trained me to write to the video which mostly meant staying out of his way and actually LOOK at the video before sitting down to write a story around it.
I should get somebody to let me into the newsroom to see what technology has done, since the Betacam days. Were you around in 1980 when we went from 16mm film to tape? Photogs just hated that but they learned to like it. Replies: There have been no replies.
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