Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/09/01

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Subject: Re: [Leica] PJ standards -- Like Caesar's wife
From: Eric Welch <eric@jphotog.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2003 09:47:28 -0700

I'm sorry, but your bias against digital has nothing to do with the 
realities of day-to-day newspaper operation. Digital saves money, 
environmentally better, it's faster which means they can stay at 
assignments later and make better photos, and it's easier to move 
photos around, and get to the original in a database rather than a 
negative sleeve in a file cabinet. There are all sorts of advantages to 
digital. And my favorite, better color accuracy.

The original is there, in the archive. Negatives can be faked, or lost 
to cover tracks. If you don't trust the photographer to act honestly 
with digital, you better not trust them with film. Not that the New 
York Times isn't without it's ethical challenges, but it lies more in 
refusal to pay their freelancers an adequate amount of money, and 
trying to strip them of the copyrights to their work. Pure and simple, 
it's greed. I would be much more worried about that forcing quality 
people to seek employment elsewhere and leaving only hacks to do the 
work. If you think I'm dreaming, then you need to check the pages of 
the Photo District News over the past 10 years.

On Monday, September 1, 2003, at 08:28  AM, Afterswift@aol.com wrote:

>
> In a message dated 9/1/03 3:05:22 AM, royfphoto@aol.com writes:
>
> <<  A couple of the fellows said that
> as a result of recent meetings that they were no longer allowed to 
> shoot
> a shot that was set up (even though this was hardly breaking news). A
> few months ago this would not have even been brought up.
> Good for them and the editors that instructed them. There have been 
> some
> bad lapses in judgment lately but there is a pretty strong desire to
> correct these through self-policeing.
> Roy Feldman >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> Roy,
>
> What has a true news organization got to sell? It's not only 
> information.
> It's credibility. Why should I spend a buck everyday to buy The Times 
> if I doubt
> the authenticity of what the writers or photographers produce? I might 
> as well
> read one of the supermarket tabloids. I was appalled when the NYT went
> completely digital in news. I still think that was a serious mistake. 
> They even
> closed their darkroom, one of the best in NYC. I could understand 
> using digital
> for international reporting, because that's the only way to be 
> competitive. But
> for local news and feature stories I see no advantage in using digital
> cameras. For a newspaper of record, that newspaper should keep a 
> record of its raw
> material -- for at least its photos. What good is an archive if it's 
> digital
> files are not only volatile but corruptible intentionally or otherwise.
>
> br
> --
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>
>

Eric Welch
Carlsbad, CA
http://www.jphotog.com

Never miss a good chance to shut up.  - Will Rogers.

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