"PHOTOJOURNALISM IS DEAD"
Dick Kraus Veteran Newsday (New York)
staff photographer


No longer are industry outsiders and consumer magazines the only ones who proclaim this phrase, but now veteran news photojournalists are starting to believe this prophecy as more is required from them in the same amount of time and same amount of pay. Editors and newspaper management don't seem to care about quality, so long as the image is in focus and fills a hole on the page.

Why the hell would I want to work toward a future that doesn't exist? Why be a student of photojournalism, if in fact its deceased? Part of that answer is why I choose to NOT major in photojournalism. Yet everyday photojournalism is in my life, in many different ways, and I still have a passion for those special images that tell a story. Young and idealistic, yes. But I'm hopeful that Dick Kraus, who I have a deep respect for, is as wrong as The Titanic's engineers. In my own very limited experience as a photo editor in a daily student newspaper, I know that there somethings we just have to grin and bear. Some big stories, like that of the campus radio station going off the air, are huge and we need photographs on the front page. So we get creative and do our best. Ideally, we would not cover that story photographically, because it isn't very visual. But we persevere.

As an editor, I've found a way to give the photojournalists a voice, albeit a limited one. Everyday, a photojournalist turns in their own story. Its illustrated usually by one photograph, possibly two, and about five column inches of text that the photojournalist writes and I edit. They can do whatever they want for that assignment. Its completely up to them. Nearly everyday we run at least one in the paper, something the photo desk can rightfully call ours. Totally self-generated.

Things will never be how they were, whatever that may be, for better or for worse. The best we can hope for is improving the situation in the present, and then for the future. That probably involves some compromise on our side, and the word-herder's too. I'm this for the long haul, I have to be optimistic.

Joseph Jaszewski
< joeja@ucdavis.edu >
Student
Davis, California
Other journals by Joeseph Jaszewski
358 April 17, 2000 Thank goodness for film
353 February 25, 2000 McCain in California
345 February 17 , 2000 Wrestling with the WWF
335 November 20, 1999 Trust your instincts
331 Is Photojournalism Dead? Joe Jaszewski Why be a student of photojournalism, if in fact its deceased?
315 September 12, 1999 It was one of the businest days
313 September 6, 1999 T-Ball days
300 July 10, 1999 "We'll Make This One Work"
293 June 30, 1999 105 degrees. 5pm. American Legion baseball, Rio American High School
289 June 2, 1999 Exactly Two Months Ago
287 May 31, 1999 One of my favorite subjects to photograph
275 May 1, 1999 How do you cover a demonstration when you are the target of crowds displeasure?
268 April 22, 1999 While out on assignment, I usually have some clue of what I should do, and when I should do it.
256 March 25, 1999 Hoop Frames
249 March 15, 1999 Perhaps those who should be most concerned about the future of photojournalism are students
220 February 9, 1999 Airlines are a Curious Thing
203 January 18, 1999 Last week I was asked to join the staff of The Sacramento Bee’s group of 7 community weekly newspapers, Neighbors.
196 January 4, 1999 The next step
187 December 13, 1998 Shoot with just one body, a 35mm f/2 lens, and a roll of 800 film.
177 November 21, 1998 Sometimes, things just have a funny way of working out and fate joins your side for a bit.
164 October 27, 1998 It sure feels good when someone in a management capacity notices the work you do and goes out of their way to acknowledge the quality of that work and compliment you.
154 October 7, 1998 Getting my feet back on level ground
148 September September Tom Hubbard Thoughts on being a freshman Guest Journal Thoughts on being a freshman Photos added 9/29
137 August 24, 1998 When formal assignments are running thin and I just have that itch to shoot, I rely on my family to provide a subject: themselves.
130 August 6, 1998 The bar keeps getting raised
119 July 24, 1998 I had no guarantee of selling the photos I was about to take. I figured if I couldn’t get anyone to buy them, then I would just chalk it up to experience.
114 July 17, 1998 . The best high school photojournalism program in the world
110 July 8, 1998 Redemption
103 June 25, 1998 Let’s go and knock on other people’s doors and meet them
91 June 12, 1998 This was a milestone for me, considering I had never had an assignment from a commercial newspaper
71 May 8, 1998 Why I chose Photojournalism as a Career
 
Contributor since 1998
  
   


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Behind the Viewfinder - A Year in the Life of Photojournalism
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