Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/11/23

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Subject: Re: News Equip, was; odd things
From: Donal Philby <donalphilby@earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 1996 10:28:33 -0800

Greg:

Even Geographic is cutting budget.  According to the woman who gave a 
presentation at the NPPA flying short course I attended (I can't 
remember her name right off) they are cutting assignments from the 
previous 3-6 months to 6 weeks.  

I can't believe it is a need to save money.  With 15 million 
circulation, their ad revenues versus photographer costs wouldn't even 
show up on a chart.

Same for Time, etc.  I saw some info from a large snowboard magazine 
the other day and it quoted advertising charges of $10,000 a page and 
photography payment of $150 a page.  

Anyone able to see a discrepancy here???

Maybe PF's opportunity was Time's token effort at real journalism.  I 
read their issue on the future of the news media and on a whim scanned 
the entire magazine and didn't fine a single photograph that I would 
consider a "news" photo--a pix the added content to the story.  They 
were simply graphic elements.  

Most magazines today (and I'm guilty of doing a bit of the work) are 
little more than infomercials interspersed with advertising.

I heard that Stanley Rosenthal, whose yachting photography since the 
1950's takes my breath away, watched a bit of the latest America's Cup 
on TV and decided against coming out here to shoot it because he could 
n't figure out how to shoot it without logos everywhere.

Of course, maybe that's why god invented photoshop!!

By the way, PF's book on Gingrich was powerful work.  I'm of the 
opinion Newt should be locked away for his own good (as well as the 
country's), but the pictures made even me think of him as human.

- --Donal Philby
  San Diego