Newspapers
A reader recently pointed me to a comprehensive
index of global newspapers that may be of some use to readers. Links are provided to each publication. This index seems to be very thorough in its listing of publications in smaller countries, but when it comes to major market it seems to only list major national publication and few, if any, of the smaller local and regional publications.
The New York Daily News a daily tabloid newspaper founded in 1919, and as of May 2016 the United States’ ninth-most widely circulated daily newspaper, eliminated the jobs of all 10 staff photographers as of July 23, 2018. In addition to the photographers two photo editing staff positions were also eliminated.
A few months ago in an interview promoting his new book
The Good Fight: America’s Ongoing Struggle for Justice, Rick Smolan was asked “How has technology disrupted photography.” Rick has been an editorial photographer since the 1980s, shot for Time, Life and National Geographic and may be best known for his “Day in the Life Of” series of books. The first
six minutes of the interview is worth a listen.
The
New York Times 2020 Group published a report in January 2017 that said its daily reporting needed to become more visual. In April it was reported the day rate for freelance assignments would jump from a previous $200 to $250 (according to some contributors) to $450, with shorter assignments “that don’t meet the full day-rate requirement” paying out at $300, still higher than the previous full day rate.
Adobe Stock has announced new partnerships that will bolster its collection: news images from Reuters; sports photos from USA Today; 400,000 images from Stocksy.
According to
Pew Research Center the combined print and digital U.S. daily newspaper circulation fell an estimated 8% to 35 million and 38 million for Sunday, the lowest levels since 1945.
According to
Around The Lens sources close to the New York Times have confirmed that the paper will begin paying freelance photographers a day rate of $450, more the double the $200 they’re currently paying. For shorter shoots, or those that don’t meet the full day-rate requirement, the rate will be $300, still more than the previous full day rate.
The Mega Agency launched its newly-signed syndication deal with American Media Inc. (AMI), one of America’s biggest publishers, with world-wide coverage of the first wedding of Prince Harry’s new girlfriend Meghan Markle.
According to a document filed with Companies House in the U.K. (see
here) it appears that Rex Features Limited (owned by Shutterstock) lent
Silverhub Media the money necessary to purchase
Splash. In return Rex Features has received very extensive control over the activities of Silverhub with regard to certain unspecified assets.
Shutterstock, Inc. has signed an exclusive deal to distribute
SilverHub Media’s growing collection of imagery worldwide.
I have a theory that a very high percentage of the uses of editorial or news pictures occur in the first month or two after they are shot. Newpapers, magazines and websites use the images when they are fresh and then move on to the next news happening. Of course, certain events will have historical value and key images from these events may be used over and over in future years – Iwo Jima flag raising, World Trade Center, Hindenburg crash, etc.– but it seems to me that such situations represent a very small percentage of overall use.
The Mega Agency is launching with an archive of 30 million images after signing a ground-breaking agreement with
Newscom, the world’s largest multi-agency archive of digital images.
Three senior news executives have joined Kevin Smith’s new media company,
The Mega Agency. Smith is delighted to announce that Paul Tetley, David Leigh and Karlo Pastrovic have joined the Mega team.
Shutterstock has announced a partnership with
PR Newswire that will provide its customers with access to the Shutterstock 83 million+ image library of licensable photos.
Last fall, BVPA, the German association of picture agencies, asked me a series of questions about the U.S. market for stock photography and where I think it is headed. The following is what I told them along with links to a few relevant stories.
The newsmedia struggles with the concept of reality and unbiased reporting, but what is reality? Is reality what can be recorded on film? Is it a JPEG rather than a RAW file? Is it only what is recorded in a video regardless of what might have been happening moments before the video started recording? If a digital file has been adjusted, or manipulated, can it still be an accurate representation of the truth of a situation?
Recently, a European asked me how the editorial market for photography has changed in the U.S. the last 10 years. First, gross revenue for U.S. newspapers has declined about 60% from $49.3 billion in 2006 to $19.9 billion in 2014. As revenue has declined the space for editorial content, including pictures, has declined.
Scoopshot’s new focus on providing image buyers with professionally produced on-demand photography, produced to precise specifications, is a dramatic reversal from the company’s existing strategy of supplying User Generated Content (UGC).
ZUMA Press Inc. (
www.zumapress.com), a leading visual media provider for the editorial community, has announced that it is now representing images from Fairfax Syndication (
www.fairfaxsyndication.com), the most comprehensive range of Australian content from a portfolio of over 300 publications and websites.
According to Meredith Kopit Levien, New York Times EVP of Advertising, speaking to OMMA SXSW in Austin, TX recently, “Last year the Times did about $180 million in digital advertising and almost that much in digital subscriptions. That puts us at a digital business that’s in the $350 million range."
The Associated Press and the National Football League today extended their commercial photo agreement, solidifying the AP’s status as the worldwide commercial licensing agent of the NFL through the 2017 season.
Yesterday, Shutterstock paid $33 million in cash to acquire London-based
Rex Features.
In the technology section of its website
Crain’s New York Business says, “The purchase of Rex puts Shutterstock in direct competition with Getty Images for a share of the editorial stock photography market, and ends long-held speculation that Shutterstock was looking to knock off its London rival.”
There are widespread rumors that, in an effort to get out from under some of its crushing debt,
Getty hopes to sell its Editorial Division early in 2015. It has been reported that Q3 2014 sales for this segment of their business was about $65 million up 21% year-on-year. Editorial represents about 30% of the company’s gross revenue.
TT News Agency, NTB, Scanpix Denmark and Scanpix Baltics have announced the formation of the
Scandinavian Photo Alliance. The core of the new alliance is the former Scanpix group. The SPA expects to work on pan-Scandinavian initiatives spanning both editorial and commercial areas.
In 2013 there were 145,713 ad pages in the magazines measured by the trade organization
Publishers Information Bureau. It is worth noting that in 2000 this organization reported 286,932 ad pages – almost double the 2013 numbers -- for the magazines it tracks.