Chicago Sun-Times lays off entire photography staff
posted Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 12:19 PM EST
In what is, perhaps, another sign of the times for newspaper-based photojournalism, the Chicago Sun-Times has laid off its entire photography staff, according to reports. Anywhere between 20-30 full-time photo staffers at the Sun-Times got the news about their termination this morning.
(There were scattered reports that the Sun-Times may be keeping two full-time photographers and one photo editor, but they couldn't be confirmed.)
According to competing paper, The Chicago Tribune, the Sun-Times will use freelance photographers going forward.
In a statement released today by the Sun-Times, the paper said it would focus more on video in future news coverage.
"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. The Chicago Sun-Times continues 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."
According to Crain's, the Sun-Times will ask the paper's reporters to provide more photos and video for their stories. The Chicago Newspaper Guild, a union that represents the staff photographers, is considering what action to take against the cuts. “We will be looking into all of our options, legal and non-legal," Craig Rosenbaum, executive director of the union, told Crain's. “We think this is a terrible move for the paper and community.”