On the mass firings of Sun-Times Media photographers
Since i've been regularly freelancing for Pioneer Press newspapers. I wanted to write something earlier, but, well, I had articles to finish.
On Thursday morning, Wrapports fired staff photographers from Sun-Times Media newspapers. That included 28 photographers who worked for Chicago Sun-Times, Southtown Star, Lake County News-Sun, Naperville Sun, [Elgin] Courier-News, [Aurora] Beacon-News, [Joliet] Herald News, [Gary] Post-Tribune and the 32 weekly newspapers that are part of Pioneer Press.
The original reports stated that all photographers were fired, but it later turned out that three of them were allowed to stay on as photographers/photo editors.
Chicago Reader is technically part of Sun-Times Media, but it retained its staff photographer (who doubles as the alternative weekly’s photo editor). Sun-Times Splash, a weekly social scene insert that is technically a separate company under Wrapports umbrella, retained its staff photographer as well, but according to her LinkedIn profile, she doubles as Splash’s layout designer. So, strictly speaking, none of the Wrapports publications have any employees that are full-time photographers anymore.
Instead of all the fired photographers, Sun-Times Media will use freelance photographers, and it will be asking photographers to shoot photos with their iPhones. No word on what happens if reporters don’t have iPhones. And, if today’s issue of Chicago Sun-Times is any indication, they will be using a lot of Associated Press photos and recycle shots from their incredibly extensive archives.
If you are a freelancer, this is a huge boon. But that’s the only silver lining. Between its 40 newspapers, it made up nearly a half (if not more than a half) of photojournalism job market in greater Chicagoland. Other then that, there are the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Herald, Times of Northwest Indiana/Illinois, and Shaw Media newspapers - the rest are smaller chains and single newspapers that either have 1-2 staff photographers or no staff photographers at all.
I imagine many of the laid-off reporters would be able to find freelance work with the major newspapers, but it’s not going to be the same as having steady work with benefits and health insurance.
The Chicago Newspaper Guild, the labor union that represents the ever-shrinking Sun-Times Media staff, isn’t taking this lying down. But I’m not sure how much they can do, given the circumstances. A major newspaper, firing all of its photographers en masse is completely unprecedented - in this country or in the English-speaking world.
A lot of people have written some pretty good posts about the situation. Alex Hernandez, the sole news reporter at the Niles Bugle, talked about what it's like to be a reporter who has to do his own photography and argued, quite persuasively, that while it can be done, it winds up diminishing the quality of the final product. Chicago Tribune photographer Alex Garcia offered the most blistering assessment of the situation yet. He talked about the logistical issues (getting a freelance photographer on assignment is more complicated then getting a staff photographer who is there and ready to go), the legal issues (if you use freelancers too much, they are considered de facto employees, and once IRS notices, you are pretty much required to hire them), the technical issues (iPhones cameras just aren't as good as proper cameras, and this becomes especially evident in print) and the general quality issue.
Garcia posits an interesting theory - the mass firing is just a ploy to reset staff salaries and benefits. He thinks that, a few months from now, Wrapports will hire photographers again - and because those positions are technically new, Wrapports would be able to offer them lower salaries, fewer (or no) benefits, etc. Which is an interesting theory, but I'm skeptical. I think this is about cost-cutting, plain and simple. Much like their closure of all newsrooms outside the Sun-Times building, I think the Wrapports management was looking to save money without looking at anything else. But that's a whole other post.
One thing for sure - this is not helping the already rock-bottom morale. I've seen staff reporters bemoaning the mass firings in public Facebook and Twitter posts. I've seen editors offering more cautious tributes. And I know that my editor, who is usually pretty responsive and easy to reach, has become much harder to get a hold off.
And, quite honestly, I have to wonder - how much longer will Pioneer Press continue to exist. How much longer will daily newspapers that aren't Chicago Sun-Times will continue to exist. There is an advantage to having all those papers from news gathering perspective - they can cover local issues much closely and in more detail than one big newspaper trying to cover the entire Chicagoland at once. And "hyperlocal" news coverage is still a big media buzzword those days. But from purely financial perspective - why have 40 newspapers when you can have just one?
*spits over shoulder*
I hope I didn't jinx it just now.
In closing, I would like to offer a quote from Garcia's piece that captures what made Sun-Times photographers so great better then I ever could.
Most Sun-Times photojournalists I knew, because of their decades of experience, were unsung journalists more than photographers. They knew how things worked and what made communities tick. They found stories and passed them on. They helped to shape stories, correct misperceptions and convey understandings that have deep resonance with readers. I am sure that many of their reporter colleagues would attest to this. I would also bet that some reporters will continue to call them, hoping to get a little help here and there.