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Another photo issue

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Smallpotatoes, Apr 28, 2018.

  1. Smallpotatoes

    Smallpotatoes Well-Known Member

    Another issue with the photo editor. As I said, he does not abide incompetence.

    Seems on the front of one of my sections, I ran a submitted baseball photo larger than one of the photos from a tennis match that a freelancer shot
    The baseball team won its game. The tennis team lost 5-0. To me, playing up the tennis just because the photos were better would have made us look clueless and out of touch.
    His issue was 1). The freelancers photos were better. (They were) 2). It was a waste of company resources (even the the freelancers photos were used and they were also used online.
    I should note, my job responsibilities straddle online and print, but are primarily online. I make suggestions about where to put things on a page, but the actual page design is out of my hands.
    I'm often not happy with how the pages look, but I figure that's not a part of my job as much anymore. Also, the papers are smaller and I have to fit the same amount of content into less space or run the risk of alienating readers.
    If he's not my supervisor, what business does he have insisting on competence from me?
    And does the whole world really revolve around the photo department?
    As far as I'm concerned the only job I can do is my own and I think everyone would be better off if they had that attitude.
     
  2. Slacker

    Slacker Well-Known Member

    Ask your managing editor to tell the photo editor to fuck off.
     
    SnarkShark and HanSenSE like this.
  3. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    This is my favorite thing that's ever been typed on SJ.com.
     
  4. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    You seem like a nice guy. Why does this photo guy despise you?
     
  5. Smallpotatoes

    Smallpotatoes Well-Known Member

    He actually doesn't. He just sees a lot of incompetence and doesn't care much for it.
     
  6. I Should Coco

    I Should Coco Well-Known Member

    Boy, he's in the wrong business then.

    Of all the things to get upset about, running a freelancer's photo slightly smaller than a submitted one is about 2,541st on the list.

    Tell the photo editor to shoot the baseball game himself, and grab a hot dog while he's there.
     
    Tweener, SFIND, spikechiquet and 2 others like this.
  7. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    I’ve worked with guys like this. I generally just let it go in one ear and out the other (I know it’s easier said than done). If he wants to determine design, let him design the page.
     
    Bronco77 likes this.
  8. PaperDoll

    PaperDoll Well-Known Member

    I'm pretty sure my (former) sports editor would've asked why we were paying a freelancer to shoot tennis at all.

    Could you get away with blaming a designer's bad decision? I've said that to our remaining staff photographer, even when it isn't entirely true. "Sorry, I gave these instructions but they obviously weren't followed."
     
  9. reformedhack

    reformedhack Well-Known Member

    The correct answer is that you work at a newspaper, not an art gallery.

    You make news judgments based on news value. What was the reason for playing baseball bigger than tennis? I'll bet the baseball game likely had more resonance with your readers than the tennis, and therefore you're reflecting that reality. (If there was more interest in the tennis, then, yes, you made a bad judgment in story play.)

    By the way, if you allow this to be seen as an issue of "competence" — and the tone of your original post seems to imply that you might agree — then it will be. And then you've lost the argument already.

    You seem to have let the photo editor to define the conflict here. Stand up for your news judgment. Don't allow him to apply his own lens to the situation and assign his own idea of value about what you do. If you're not careful, this will spread around your newsroom and up the ladder. And that's not good for your career.
     
    SnarkShark and Bronco77 like this.
  10. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    Did you threaten to kick his ass, like you do to people here?
     
    wicked and BurnsWhenIPee like this.
  11. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    This is a parody account, right?

    Boom, is that you?
     
  12. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    Stop mocking me!
     
    I Should Coco and YankeeFan like this.
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