Chicago Sun-Times pink slips its entire photo staff

A good business decision? Of course, free labor is always better


The American press, reeling from consumers' continued abandonment of traditional format news delivery and rapidly shrinking advertising revenues, is desperately trying to reduce overhead by cutting staff and relying on cheap, if not free, content. In other cases printed editions have simply been jettisoned altogether A sign of the times, as another U.S. newspaper proves it can read the writing on the wall

Yesterday the Chicago Sun-Times sent out its own distress call, axing its entire 28 person, full time photography staff. The dismissals were without warning and were effective immediately.

The Sun-Times, founded in 1844, is the city's oldest continuously published daily newspaper.

The company's official statement:

"The Sun-Times business is changing rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and are focused on bolstering our reporting capabilities with video and other multimedia elements. [We] continue to evolve with our digitally savvy customers, and as a result, we have had to restructure the way we manage multimedia, including photography, across the network."

How will the paper accomplish this? The cheapest way possible - by using poorly paid free lancers and unpaid i-reporters. CNN and others made that term famous, calling them "citizen journalists." Just like banks, the mainstream media has learned that many people will forget about poor or even nonexistent pay if only you reward them with a fancy title and a handsome nameplate on the desk.

Twenty-eight full time salaries and benefit packages went out the window yesterday, and 28 talented, experienced photographers are on the street. It's not a good time to be looking for work in journalism anywhere in the U.S. But for those in the Sun-Times boardroom, it's no doubt a great day to consider that executive bonus pay proposal, now that so much corporate cash has been freed up.

Feb. 14 - You get what you pay for: a lesson McClatchy is determined to learn the hard way

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