June 13, 1998

PHOTOJOURNALIST OR NOT??

Sometimes there is a lot of lip service paid at my newspaper about photographers being journalists. Whenever we have one of our occasional “pep” rallies, the Editor or Managing Editor or our department head or usually all three will make a pitch to assure us that the photographers on the staff are considered journalists and no, we are not second class citizens. And then all of them will conspire to prove just the opposite.

A case in point. A couple of weeks ago a long running story was reaching a climax. The Long Island Lighting Co. had been the public power utility for most of Long Island for ages. Because of some poor management decisions and the building of a nuclear power plant that was never allowed to open because being on an island, escape routes are critical in the event of a nuclear accident and there just weren't enough ways to get several million people off of the island. So, our electric rates were the highest in the the country and businesses moved away and new business wouldn’t locate here because of the expense of power and the economy was in a bind. So, a group formed calling itself LIPA, Long Island Power Authority. They worked to take over the utility and streamline the operation and produce cheaper power for the citizens of Long Island. Naturally it became a political bartball and bounced around the courts for years and finally, last year, it became a reality.

My paper and the all of tv stations covered every meeting LIPA held and the stories were up front and in your face for month after month. A couple of weeks ago, LIPA was holding an historic vote at its board meeting on whether to effect a 20% decrease in electric rates for consumers. This would be the first time in history that such a decrease would occur. I was assigned to cover that vote. And, just to keep the record straight it was one of three assignments for me that morning.

The auditorium where the meetings were held was dimly lit. The board, numbering, oh I guess about 20 strong, were spread out at a table across the front of the hall. Attending this historic occasion were the Governor, one of our Senators, the Comptroller of NY State, two County Executives and a passle of state assemblymen and state senators. Persons of note were constantly milling around.

Now, I will go to great lengths to avoid shooting straight, on camera flash. It spoils the ambiance of the scene and just doesn’t look natural. The ceiling was too high for a good bounce exposure. And I couldn't even use my sticks because I had to move around to get my pictures in the crowded room. My usual m.o. is to shoot available light with a flash fill set at one and a third stops under exposed. In this venue, my exposures with ASA 800 film was like 1/10th of a second wide open. Not too good. Especially while using an 80 to 200 mm zoom. So, I squeezed off my exposures with great care, steadying my camera against seat backs or architectural pillars in the room. I shot far more exposures that normal, hoping one or two might be steady enough. And then I set the shutter at a 250th and would try some bounce and even some straight flash. A lousy straight lit photo is better than no photo at all. And so I shot and shot and shot. When the vote was taken, I suggested to the LIPA Chairman that he do a show of hands rather than the usual voice vote which would be fine for tv but useless for me. The vote was unanimous and all hands went up. But they came down before I could re-set my camera for a faster shutter speed and I had to be content with four frames of available light. At least I was using my 35 to 70 mm lens at 35 mm for this shot.

When it was over, I went on to cover my other two jobs and later that day found my self back at the office, locking horns with a photo editor. When he made his selection of my negatives, he went right past the four frames of the historic vote with the hands raised. I pointed out his omission and he said that there were no frames sharp enough and besides, he thought the story involved all of the politicos who were there to take credit for the deed. I agreed that the pols were an important aspect but I felt that the voting photo was the key to the story and it was sharp enough to be usable and it was relevant.

We argued back and forth and he was adamant that the photo not go out to the News Desk. It’s long been the policy at the paper that if a photographer feels strongly enough about a shot and the editor doesn’t select it, the photographer has the privilege of having it seen by the News Desk and they can decide which one to use. We are, after all, journalists. Or are we? I called upon this point of privilege and was rebuffed. I was pissed.

I went into the scan room to scan his pick of my film and while I was scanning his choices, I threw in mine as well. The editor came in and saw the HP Laser print proof laying next to me, after it was scanned into the system and he went ballistic and took the HP Print and reminded me that he didn’t want this photo going out to the desk. I flew into the Deputy Chief Photo Editors office and laid the whole thing on him.

“Either I am a journalist with the skills and ability to know what photos are relevant or I am a button pusher and I don’t get paid to think! What will it be.”

Jeff did his best to calm me and asked to see the scan of the negative that I was fighting for. When I showed it to him he agreed with me that the quality was certainly good enough to run and that the photo was relevant. He called the Photo Editor into his office, and I went back to scanning.

The next day, my choice ran in the paper. I was, however, called into the Chief Photo Editor's office and was given a dressing down for producing a weak take that was by and large, unusable, I was told, because of subject and camera movement. They couldn't take me to task for arguing for a photo that DID run in the paper, so they picked me apart on my technical skills.

I argued that if they took a good look at my overage, they would find that if a particular shot was soft or had movement because I was working at the edge of the envelope, all they had to do was move the loupe a few frames further down the film and they would find that shot sharp and in focus but lit with straight flash.

But, no one opted to go to the trouble of pulling my negatives out of the library. So, I got my wrist slapped and was sent on my way. I am a prima donna, no doubt about it. I have an ego that won't fit in my body. But, I take pride in my professionalism and my work, and because, as a dear friend calls me, I am a news puke, I still try incredibly impossible shots and back them up with straight flash. Because when they work, they are so much better than straight flash and they serve to impart so much more information to the reader. That’s what we news pukes do.

Attached are the two shots that were the crux of the controversy. I dunno. Maybe you will agree with the Photo Editor's choice. But, if I am to be considered a journalist, then I reserve the right to have an opinion.

Regards,

Dick Kraus

Newsday Staff Photographer

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