I hope Dennis Dunleavy expands on his post, The demise of photojournalism is not all about the threat from citizen journalism.
In it, Dennis lays out some of the forces at play on photojournalism, using the recent kerfuffle touched off by Dan Gillmor’s The Decline (and Maybe Demise) of the Professional Photojournalist. He goes beyond that and identifies nine areas that are effecting the trade:
1. Media consumption habits and a decreased demand for full-time photojournalists at the daily newspaper.
2. Media Consolidation
3. Digital Photography
4. Electronic photo manipulation
5. Wireless Internet
6. Citizen Journalism
7. Broadband Internet Access
8. Mini-digital video
9. Picture Editing
He explores each of those in broadbrush terms, opening the debate over the future of photojournalism far wider than it has been. My hope is that Dennis treats this as the starting part for continuing exploration. There’s a lot there worth thinking and talking about, ranging from the declining traditional opportunities for pjs to how digital photography changes the interaction between subject and shooter.
TAGS: PHOTOJOURNALISM, NEWSPAPERS, FUTURE
Thanks Mark for the mention on my latest rant about where photojournalism is headed. Dan (the sky is falling) Gillmor got me worked up and a lot of what I have been blogging about is really just the start of the conversation. I don’t agree with Gillmor’s generalization that citizen journalism will replace anything. I think it just adds to a very rich mix of expressions, opinions, and ideas from more sources than we could have ever imagined 20 years ago.
dennis