Journalism Upside Down
Posted in The Berkeley Scene, The Global Scene Through Berkeleyan Eyes on March 28th, 2013 by admin – Be the first to commentby Steed Dropout
March 27, 2013
SHOULD JOURNALISM PHOTOS SUGGEST STORIES? OR SHOULD THE STORIES LEAD?
I am about to turn journalism upside down.
The following story was written just so I could publish a photo. Usually I shoot and report, but my stories for the Berkeley Daily Planet were written first; later I selected a photo-essay.
First the story, then the pictures.
At papers like the SF Chronicle and on television, photographers pursue their own stories, but their editors will link their footage to the ten o’clock news.
The Oakland Tribune Media Group has, for at least a decade, put photography in the hands of reporters — saving money when my friend David Yee lost his press photographer’s job to someone like me.
We’re news reporters first and reluctant photojournalists second.
I spent so much time shooting mayor’s election forums last year , I often came away without a story. My editor saw me in action with the camera, and told me to stick to the story.