Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/11/30

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Subject: [Leica] UPI Major news service??? Was Leicas's Development & Managment
From: Harrison McClary <hmcclary@earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 22:37:36 -0600

Monday, Monday, November 30, 1998, Nigel B Watson wrote:


>  the major news services (I took that to mean UPI, Reuters
> et al)


HA!!!! I haven't heard UnPaidInvoice (UPI) referred to as a major news
service in ages, cause they haven't been major in ages!!

Lets see, I helped close down the Atlanta bureau for UPI at the end of
1993.  I  was  still spinning prints on an analog drum transmitter (45
minutes  per  color shot) that was at least as old as I am. We had one
old leaffax 35 photo transmitter and a compander to go digital (appx 5
minutes  per  color  shot), when it was working. The South East region
photo  editor  baby  sat this thing and the only times we used it were
when  he was in the bureau, which was often as there were only 3 of us
for  the  entire south, not counting Fla, they had one guy. Josh liked
Fla so much he drove through a blizzard to get to Washington & I heard
he  then got stranded in Bosnia when UPI went tits up the last time in
late  '93.  Oh  well,  Josh  always liked the action. Saw him on CSPAN
about  a  year  or  so  ago,  heard he is now shooting for AFP, Agence
France Press.

I  know of one photog who is still sending up photos for UPI. He works
out  of  Chapel  Hill,  NC. Shoots with battered Nikon F3's and manual
focus lenses. He scans on a Polaroid Sprint scan 35, the original one,
run  through  a  Mac  Powerbook 180c. Not real high tech. I think they
have  a  guy  in Houston also, George Wong for you Texans, if you know
him tell him I said hello, we covered the '94 Super Bowl together.

If  you,  like  me,  can't  believe  UPI  is  still  around  check out
www.upi.com   Blew me away they were still there.  Hell I can remember
them filing chapter 11 at least 3 times in about 6 years.

Must  say  I am glad they are still hanging on. Shoot even with only 3
of  us  in the SE we still kicked the s*** outa AP on a regular basis.
Too  bad they axed photo back in '93, we were the only division of UPI
making  money  at  that time. And it was the best news job I ever had.
Had  it  remained  profitable  I  would  probably still be doing it.

Plus the APes need the competition.

Side  note  here.  UPI never admitted to "going away". They were still
there,  but  from  late  1993  till  1995 or so anyone crazy enough to
transmit  to  them  was  not  getting paid. They closed down almost of
their  bureaus in the nation, only leaving, I think, 3 or 4 open. Also
most  of  the people now working for them are not the same people from
the  old  days.  Most of them have gone on to much bigger things. They
always had the best shooters IMHO.)

Best regards,
 Harrison McClary
http://people.delphi.com/hmphoto
preview my book: http://www.volmania.com