Photojournalism

photojournalism

fəʊtəʊˈdʒəːn(ə)lɪz(ə)m/

noun

1. 1.

   the practice of communicating news by photographs, especially in magazines.

Photojournalism has been around since the 1890s, it pre-dates 35mm photography. The real boom for it was with the development of 35mm SLR cameras.The 'Golden age' is said to date from 1930-1960 when there was a lot happening in the news.

At this time photojournalists were relied upon to provide images to tell stories that words alone couldn't. If it was photographed and reported as news there was little question to it's authenticity and it was taken as 100% truth. With the invention of small 35mm bodies it was easier for photographers to leave the studio and connect with the people. For the first time it was easy to document what was happening in the world and so people began doing just that. 

Some of the most historic photographs of the 20th century were shot by photojournalists for major publications. The more notable publications of the time were Life, Sports Illustrated, Paris Match and Picture Pos. However, "when life magazine made the announcement in 1972 that it was ceasing its weekly publication, many people claimed that photojournalism was dead" (http://www.lightstalking.com/a-brief-history-of-photojournalism)

Traditional photojournalists still exist however with the boom of the internet and smart phones it's easier than ever for anyone to report news, the need for photojournalists is slowly decreasing. In May 2013 the Chicago Sun Times came under fire when it decided to terminate it's entire photography staff in favour of 'iPhonejournalism'. In an age where everyone has a camera in their pocket, can photojournalists compete in getting that money shot of that crucial new story?

There's a lot of talk recently about newspaper publications moving from print to online based media. Some have welcomed the move however some newspapers have insisted they will be charging a subscription fee for the online viewing. Will people pay for something they can get free elsewhere? We have paid for paper publications for years but one reason the internet is so popular is due to free information. Is this the end of newspaper publications and photojournalism?

Once French publication 'Liberation' decided to revolt and chose to remove all photography from one of it's November editions in a bid to support photographers. It's quite a striking publication that received a lot of media attention. This is a great way to highlight the importance of real photography in publications. It's an essential part of media which cannot be replaced by members of the public with smartphones.

 “A visual shock. For the first time in its history, Libération is published without photographs. In their place: a series of empty frames that create a form of silence; an uncomfortable one. It’s noticeable, information is missing, as if we had become a mute newspaper. [A newspaper] without sound, without this little internal music that accompanies sight,” writes Brigitte Ollier, a journalist Libération‘s Culture desk.

(http://www.bjp-online.com/2013/11/french-newspaper-removes-all-images-in-support-of-photographers/)