How depressing. If you sack the photographers, who have invested a lot of time and effort to getting experience in taking photos for the press, the drop in quality is likely to show. Some press photographers are seriously good at what they do.
Also, I usually avoid video clips as my ISP gives me a fixed rate based on bandwidth. I prefer being able to read the text quietly (which is useful if you're on your break at work) or to have the chance to print out an article - video isn't always practical for everyone.
It is a sad state of affairs that the old arts of the printed text and still images are not fashionable or profitable these days. Like Ariel @mercuria I still like to read the text of newspapers especially on the physical paper. Same with books. I do not like reading from eReaders at all. I like the feeling of a book.
But to want to move to video is understandable, but not to have professional videographers? It makes even less sense than relying on amateur photograph "snappers."
"It makes even less sense than relying on amateur photograph "snappers." "
Well, this is what is happening everywhere. People with cellphones are taking some fantastic photographs. Should they all be considered 'snappers'? I've seen stunning photos here from people who use point-and-shoot cameras. Some actually make a living doing so. Are they just 'snappers'? @frankhymus
Whether they want video or photos is a moot point in today's digital world. Anyone who has a cell phone has a camera. This puts everyone in the right place at the right time to catch that moment. Not everyone will do so though. For those who aspire to make some freelance money, why not? This newspaper doesn't have to pay salaries or healthcare or even vacation. They don't have to send out anyone to get the photo or video because there are dozens of people already in place with the technology to capture the moment. How can they fight it? Many other oganizations are already doing this.
It should make people think about why they would go into professional photography. Wedding and baby photographers are a dime a dozen. The market is flooded now that it's easy to find someone with skills. If people want to do this, they have to find their niche and fill that need. The opportunities and need for up-to-date photography is never ending. No one wants old photos that look dated. We demand more and more current information ourselves. So, photography and video will not go away but instead be more instantaneous. That takes a lot of input from many sources. A small handful of people can't keep up by themselves.
I'm not surprised. The newspaper here is on a downward spiral. They obviously don't have any copy editors anymore and the reporters they do have seem barely literate. Anything that isn't local is from the AP. The papper is getting smaller and smaller and costing more and more because they can't sell ad space.
@dmortega Some cell phone images are fine. Most are not. It actually depends mostly on the photographer and her skills, technical and artistic. A naked cell phone camera is not a forgiving technology for an average inexperienced user, and can't be even thought of as on a par with the average Point-and-Shoot, camera most of which are indeed great and forgiving tools in a great variety of situations for an average user.
@jase_again Yes. There's not that much choice really as newspapers are moving towards putting most of the articles behind paywalls, or not putting them online so you have to buy the printed version.
Also if you want to do the puzzles it is better on a printed version ;)
@dmortega@aponi@frankhymus@mercuria the problem with newspapers today is pretty simple....newspapers print old news... by "old", I mean something that was breaking "yesterday" or a few days ago. We already know the news because there are so many instant outlets available. That, and we are connected world wide like never before. I communicate with people all over the world. If something happens in Japan, I usually know about it around the same time (sometimes even sooner) than it is reported in news outlets - tv, internet, etc. Newspaper editors need to find new ways of getting subscribers. If you live in a small town, there's not much local news usually. If they can't figure out a way to make their product something we "need", we're not going to buy it. Its that simple. One thing they could do here in the US is get local businesses to offer coupons that are only available in the printed newspaper. And like @mercuria mentioned... the puzzles can be a good draw for a lot of people.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
Also, I usually avoid video clips as my ISP gives me a fixed rate based on bandwidth. I prefer being able to read the text quietly (which is useful if you're on your break at work) or to have the chance to print out an article - video isn't always practical for everyone.
But to want to move to video is understandable, but not to have professional videographers? It makes even less sense than relying on amateur photograph "snappers."
Well, this is what is happening everywhere. People with cellphones are taking some fantastic photographs. Should they all be considered 'snappers'? I've seen stunning photos here from people who use point-and-shoot cameras. Some actually make a living doing so. Are they just 'snappers'? @frankhymus
Whether they want video or photos is a moot point in today's digital world. Anyone who has a cell phone has a camera. This puts everyone in the right place at the right time to catch that moment. Not everyone will do so though. For those who aspire to make some freelance money, why not? This newspaper doesn't have to pay salaries or healthcare or even vacation. They don't have to send out anyone to get the photo or video because there are dozens of people already in place with the technology to capture the moment. How can they fight it? Many other oganizations are already doing this.
It should make people think about why they would go into professional photography. Wedding and baby photographers are a dime a dozen. The market is flooded now that it's easy to find someone with skills. If people want to do this, they have to find their niche and fill that need. The opportunities and need for up-to-date photography is never ending. No one wants old photos that look dated. We demand more and more current information ourselves. So, photography and video will not go away but instead be more instantaneous. That takes a lot of input from many sources. A small handful of people can't keep up by themselves.
Also if you want to do the puzzles it is better on a printed version ;)