Italian agency, Grazia Neri, has been forced into liquidation, due to the extreme editorial and advertising crisis in the Italian market. Almost since its founding in 1966, the company has been considered the leading agency for photojournalism in Italy.
Photojournalism and reportage were always the special emphasis of Grazia Neri Agency, but the demand for this type of imagery has been declining for years. As newspapers and magazines publish fewer enterprise stories, the major event coverage provided by AP, Reuters, Getty Images and AFP has become sufficient to supply most publisher's needs.
Executive director Michele Neri, son of the founder, indicated that in 2009, sales have fallen nearly 40%, compared to the previous years. The crisis in the Italian editorial market is so grave that there is little hope of a recovery in the short or medium term.
Earlier, the agency had cut its staff from 31 to 18 and used up all its cash reserves in an effort to stay afloat. Neri told the British Journal of Photography: "In the last months and to the last moment, we have looked for a suitable strategic partner but with no success."
Grazia Neri will use the next few months to complete ongoing projects, tasks and activities, which are necessary to the liquidation.
The company represents many individual photographers and over 150 international agencies, including Aurora, Contact Press Images, Polaris, Veras Images, VII Photo and IPNStock