The number of news photographers employed in the U.S has dropped 43% since 2000 from 6,171 to 3,493 according to the ASNE (American Society of News Editors). By comparison, the number of full-time newspaper reporters and writers dropped by 32%—from 25,593 to 17,422.
A number of factors seem to be responsible for this high rate of attrition among photographers. Shrinking newsroom budgets play a significant part, but so does the explosion of mobile technology and social media, making it easier for citizens and non-professionals to capture and share images. When it laid off several photographers in 2011,
CNN cited the “impact of user-generated content and social media…in breaking news,” as a key reason.
In late August,
Reuters laid off all their contract sports photographers in North America. They replaced their sports photo feed with images from USA Today Sports Images. A source inside Reuters said the move was to save money covering sports so that the budget could be allocated to covering more news events instead.
USA Today is testing out the
crowdsourcing site Scoopshot to get the High School sports images they need.
Another major U.S. daily,
The Atlanta Journal Constitution, announced in October that it would lay off a significant number of its staff photographers.
Donald Winslow, editor of
NPPA's News Photographer magazine, suggested another factor behind the cuts. In some cases, he said, the victims were veteran photographers pulling down relatively high salaries, making them tempting targets when newspaper organizations are looking to cut costs.