And This is Why Photo Editors are Important

The Washington Times ... well ... read for yourself. 

Good grief.

Kent State, 38 Years Later

John Filo, who shot the iconic photo from Kent State 39 years ago, talks about the photo and meeting Mary Vecchio years later. 

Can Design Save Newspapers?

So asks Jacek Utko at this year's TED conference.

Gear Guides

We're getting close to that time of the year, the time when many of my students will start fretting about graduating. And it's not so much the Becoming a Real Person Dilemma as it is what do I need to buy?

I say it often - we do a great thing here at UGA in providing gear to our students. It completely eliminates an economic barrier to taking the classes and finding your passion. But it also means the students don't have to buy anything or start building their kits. So when their last class ends and they have to hand back the kit, they go into a bit of withdrawal. Or, more accurately, they go into shock over what it costs to build their own.

David McIntyre over at Black Star Rising has a short post on the basic gear a freelancer needs and it's a great starting point for a discussion that will go on for a few weeks here.

Final Edition

This has been all over the web already today. It was Twittered and emailed thousands of times. But in case you missed it, the Rocky Mountain News published its final edition on Friday morning. And Matthew Roberts posted the video story, 21 minutes long. And worth every second.

There are only a handful of two-newspaper cities left, Denver deserved to be one of them.

Hard Times a the High End

We all generate Top 10 lists at some point ... the Top 10 Car Designs, the Top 10 Albums of All Times ... silly things like that. Some of them are relevant to what we do in our careers, some are not.

For instance, if I were to come up with a list of the Top 10 Portrait Photographers of Our Time, Annie Leibovitz would be way up on that list (along with her peers like Chip Simons and Mark Seliger). So to find out she's in financial trouble and has, essentially, pawned her archive is ... well ... disturbing.

Twitter Ponzi?

I've been capturing a lot of Steve Yelvington tweets and blog posts, such as this:

This is about Twitter getting another $35 million in venture capital funding. I love Twitter, I use Twitter. But I don't know how it will ever make money.

Anyone have an idea?

On Business

Our beloved industry is in trouble, but you can survive. Being smart about running your own business is extremely difficult, but extremely rewarding when done right.

The first thing you need to know is diversify your clients. Do not put your proverbial eggs in one basket. 

Facebook Showdown

Facebook instituted a change in its terms of service that drew a lot of complaints. Wednesday morning, they backed down.

Now, if only other entities would understand that content has value ... 

Speaker: Chris Weston, Feb. 18

Make sure this is on your calendar:

Chris Weston, managing editor at the Greenville (S.C.) News, will be doing a talk on "Transforming Newsrooms Amid Disruptive Innovations." It'll be in the Drewry Room on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 12:15. See Sophie Barnes in room 233 by Tuesday so you can get free pizza.

Weston is a good friend to Grady and a guy who has an excellent grasp on how journalism is changing and needs to change to survive. Highly recommend you get to this.

"Do You Have a Photograph of Jesus?"

It happens all the time - photo archivist get a call looking for a photo of something ... something that could not have been photographed. Laurie Hill has built a video based on the strange requests the Hulton Archive and Getty Images get. 

Thanks to Mike Johnston at The Online Photographer for the link.

(Camera) Geek Predictions for 2009

Thom Hogan has posted his predictions on what camera goodies we'll see in 2009. Real inside baseball stuff, but the talk about market share is something to pay attention to. While we focus on storytelling, there's an industry that provides us with the tools to do that storytelling - it's mildly important that we pay attention to that industry.

So, You Want to Shoot Election Night ...

If you were thinking of heading to Chicago on November 4, here's what the Chicago Sun-Times has learned it will cost you ... and, honestly, it's not as much as I would have thought.

FROM THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN....

The following coverage resource packages are available for purchase:

* Main Riser Position - $935 (Includes 4 Main Riser Credentials, 5'x8' Slot on Covered Main Riser and one 20 amp circuit)
* Main Riser Position with Telecommunications - $1870 (Includes Main Riser Position services, PLUS two unlimited long distance/local phone lines and one wired high speed internet connection)
* Cut Riser Position - $880 (Includes 4 Cut Riser Credentials, 5'x8' Slot on Covered Cut Riser, one 20 amp circuit)
* Cut Riser Position with Telecommunications - $1815 (Includes Cut Riser Position services, PLUS two unlimited long distance/local phone lines and one wired high speed internet connection)
* Press File Seat - $935 (includes 1 Press File Credential, seat in heated Press File Tent, Power, Cable Television, High Speed Wired Internet Service, Catering)
* Satellite Truck Position - $900 (includes 35'x20' parking position and 100 amp electrical service)
* Radio Position - $715 (includes table space and chair behind the riser, power and an ISDN BRI line for radio -- comes with two credentials)

Billing information must be submitted at as part of the request. Your credit card will not be charged until the campaign confirms your coverage resource package request.

(a link deleted)

Additional services may be purchased a la carte:

* Unlimited Long Distance Phone Line - $300
* High Speed Wired Internet - $275
* One 20 amp circuit - $165

For telephone service internet connectivity and additional power, orders must be placed by October 23rd, 2008. For questions on pricing or additional telecommunications assistance, please contact (deleted)

The following credentials may be requested at no cost:

* General Press Area - No Charge (Includes access to bike racked press area with standing room only)

You must fill out the form to the right to request each individual General Press Area credential.

Request media credentials for the Election Night event:

Credentials to access the General Media Area are available at no cost. Please note that the General Media Area is outdoors, unassigned and may have obstructed views. General Media Area credentials do not include access to riser positions, satellite truck parking or the press filing center.

Access to those resources are available for purchase at (link deleted). Space is limited.

Newark Star-Ledger Threatens to Close

Yep, they sent a notice to their employees yesterday and posted it to the web - if the Newark Star-Ledger can't get a new contract with the driver's union by October 8, the paper will be put up for sale or close by January 5, 2009. 

The Star-Ledger has been doing some innovative online stuff and isn't a small paper - 350,000 a day and 520,000 on Sunday.

NPPA Flying Short Course - Sept. 26 in North Carolina

Get it on your calendar now - the National Press Photographers Association's Flying Short Course will be dropping in to Boiling Springs, N.C., on Friday, September 26. That stop is less than three hours from Athens.

One of the best in the business on business will be talking - John Harrington. And a whole slate of other great folks, too.

You students know the drill, go join NPPA, see me and you can go for almost free.

Sun-Sentinel Redesign

Wow ... this is ... different ... 

Images of the newly-redesigned paper are available on the VisualEditors site, and they are a departure from almost everything I've ever seen in a newspaper. 

Will have to follow this closely ...

Paying for "Access"

When does a "news" photographer become a "commercial" photographer? Does an individual have the right to control the commercial usage of their image? Does a school have the authority to restrict who can and who can't profit, commercially, from a student's image?

In several states this issue has come up over the last few years, and now someone is proposing that newspaper pay a "token" amount to public school athletic associations to be able to resell published images.

It's a loaded question, but what do you think?

Lawyer Sues News & Observer Over Staff/Space Cuts

Yep, a lawyer is suing because the paper announced cuts after he paid his subscription. 

So, instead of being able to put money into staff or resources, they now have to spend it fighting off a frivolous lawsuit. But, the lawyer says he could have cancelled his subscription, but "filed the suit to make a point."

Proving, again, that in the legal system, the lawyers always win.

Why You Need to Register Your Work

Photo Attorney Carolyn Wright tells the tale of a photographer who just won a $12 million settlement for copyright infringements.

Ahem.

Cover Shots

Khoi Vinh has a marvelous post up talking about album cover artwork. If you read through the comments, an interesting idea is pushed out ... that newer records need to rely on bolder designs that are readable at a smaller scale. And not just because we've moved from albums to CDs, but that we've now moved down to that little square in the corner of iTunes.

I admit to still having a sizable record collection - the big ones with black vinyl inside. I'll even admit to having turned a few of my favorite album covers into home-made posters when I was younger, including The Del Fuegos' Boston, Mass. and Foreigner's Agent Provocateur. Why? They were clean and evocative of ... well, whatever I was feeling in 1986, I suppose.

(Plus, who else but Dan Zanes could pen a line like, "I stayed awake last week ...?")