Among those laid off is John H. White (see photo above), a 68-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner. Meanwhile, the Poynter Institute reports that the Sun-Times will start giving their reporters mandatory training in iPhone photography. Because that’s the same thing, right?
We know print journalism is under siege – it has been for years. And, contrary to popular opinion, this is not so much because of “the internet” as the fact that there’s a smaller number of companies that own more and more news outlets. And the practice of these companies is to prioritize their bottom line over – oh, I don’t know – being a watchdog for democracy. But still, every time you hear about another paper laying off staff, or shutting down altogether, it hurts. News today that the Chicago Sun-Times has laid off its entire photo-staff feels like a sucker punch. This is terrible news, not just for journalism, but because it debases the craft of photography itself. Is it just me, or does it seem like we’re getting to a point where no one knows anything about anything. Maybe that’s the idea.
