[Leica] PHOTOG BAD NEWS!!!! :-)

[Greg Rubenstein]

The SI and Reuters decisions are disappointing on many fronts. The fact is the quality of photography, particularly for SI, likely won't suffer.

Why?

Rather than foot the expenses for full-time photographers, they'll shift to contract shooters, using people they know. And they will pay the known shooters well while dumping the ongoing costs and issues that come with the responsibilities of maintaining a full-time staff.

Core editorial staffs across the board are shrinking -- print and online. Have been for many years. Freelancers for writing, photography, illustration, design and other functions are increasing in numbers through this outsourcing.

This raises a thicket of issues for people working in -- or wanting to work -- in this arena. Makes a tough business tougher. It's now the age of the freelancer, agency, collective, consultant, contractor -- whatever you want to call these people now.

Sad to see for old-timers such as myself and others who came up through newspapers and magazines, but it's the way of the 21st century and much of the new technology we benefit from.

Many corporations used to have in-house publishing departments with photographers, designers, illustrators, writers and more (yes, labs and printing, too). Outsourcing of many of those corporate functions to agencies or businesses using these skill sets as core business functions started in earnest in the late 80s.

Heck, our LUG yearbook through Blurb is, in many ways, a poster child for what's happening in publishing.

Greg Rubenstein

Sent from my iPhone.