“Young journalists who once dreamed of trotting the globe in pursuit of a story are instead shackled to their computers, where they try to eke out a fresh thought or be first to report even the smallest nugget of news — anything that will impress Google algorithms and draw readers their way.” -The New York Times, “In a World of Online News, Burnout Starts Younger“

Newspaper and magazine websites have long been listing their most popular, most read, and most emailed stories in prominent places. Organizations such as Gawker, Bloomberg News, CNET, and others, have tied reporters’ pay, in part, to how many times readers click on their articles. This so-called Pay-Per-View journalism has been heralded as one of the possible saviours of journalism in the internet age, but it’s taking its toll. In a recent New York Times article, the Chicago Tribune’s managing editor was quoted, “You can’t really avoid the fact that page views are increasingly the coin of the realm.” By juking headlines to drive search traffic, guiding coverage toward what is most popular, and endless promotion and “branding” for both media companies and individual journalists (definitely read that link), newspapers and magazines are doing whatever they can to stay relevant and solvent. One side effect, though, is that journalists are burning out younger than ever before. The 24 hour push for clicks, shares, and tweets, is driving young reporters into the ground. “At a paper, your only real stress point is in the evening when you’re actually sitting there on deadline, trying to file,” Jim VandeHei, Politico’s executive editor, told the New York Times. “Now at any point in the day starting at 5 in the morning, there can be that same level of intensity and pressure to get something out.”

(via Slashdot)

VII Magazine

The photo agency/collective VII has unveiled a new online project dubbed VII Magazine. There’s a bit of content up already, including an interview with Jessica Dimmock, a presentation of Marcus Bleasdale’s fashion work for New York magazine, Ron Haviv’s recent coverage of the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, a look inside Christopher Morris’ book My America (previously interviewed here at dvafoto), John Stanmeyer’s coverage of fires in the Amazon, and more.

The Photography Post

Sort of an Arts and Letters Daily for the photography set, the Photography Post aims to “bring you interviews, columns, [and] a visual aggregate that’s updated every 15 minutes,” all about what’s going on in photography. With Rachel Hulin as an editor, you know it’ll be good, and the rest of the team (Danielle Franca Swift, Kate Steciw, and Henry Tam) seem determined to keep the world abreast of current discussion in photography of all sorts. For a taste of what the site does, check out the weekly top ten, or this post on the Dutch masters, or Go Here! Do This!, or What does being a PDN 30 mean?, or their Museum of Online Photography Collections. I could get lost for days.

‘Show of hands, how many of you have bought a newspaper in the last week?’ Usually no one raises their hand.” -Greg Ceo

Greg Ceo likes to survey his students in his Business Practices for Photography class at Savannah College of Art and Design. Usually, in his classes, a couple of students have purchased a newspaper in the last month, and none are subscribers. Great post on his blog about reactions to the survey. (via APhotoEditor)

US newspaper circulation has hit a 70 year low. Here’s a graphic illustration of the past 20 years of major US newspapers’ circulation sizes. The aging “creative class”, who once staffed newsrooms, production departments, and studios, is finding that there’s no work to be had.

Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor seems to have found success after switching to a majority-online publication, seeing an increase in paid subscribers.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to like reading online any time soon…

There have been two prevailing attitudes toward the proposed conference/symposium dealing with issues of race and diversity in photography:

a) That it is absolutely necessary & b) It is a terrifying prospect.

The first point speaks for itself, and the second point becomes clear when one considers the kerfuffles, misunderstanding and (dare I say it) vitriol that has accompanied much online discussion.” -Prison Photography

Following up on earlier talk of a conference on race and photography, Pete Brook has spearheaded the effort to create an online symposium covering the subject, and the momentum is building. A great mix of potential contributors have already responded positively to the idea, and the work behind the scenes is moving quickly. Read about what we have up our sleeves over at Prison Photography. And get involved!

Seamus Murphy and Charles M. Sennott - Life, death and the Taliban

The GlobalPost, a leading purveyor of internet-focused international journalism, has just published the multimedia package “Life, death, and the Taliban.” Featuring the photography of dvafoto favorite Seamus Murphy, the pieces mixes written reporting, video, and still photojournalism in a remarkably comprehensive analysis of the contemporary Taliban. There’s almost too much here to take in, but it’s all worthwhile. While you’re at it, check out Murphy’s “A Darkness Visible,” a website devoted to some of his early coverage of the Taliban.

(via Fresh Air interview with GlobalPost executive editor Charles Sennott)

Lovebryan.com - Image by Sara Lafleur

I can’t believe I haven’t linked to lovebryan.com yet. The brainchild of Bryan Derballa, the site aggregates the work of 8 member photographers and an oscillating contingent of less-frequent contributors. The work presented is all over the place, but mostly it’s raw and creative and unexpected and fun. You might find a mushroom-filled trip to a lake, chickens and naked babies, a trip on a cruise ship, the scene behind the scenes of what looks like a horror music video, a visual-psycho-analysis of one’s kid sister, road trips, or nostalgia for the summer you wish you had last year. It’s hard not to get lost in there for hours.

Photoshelter and Look3 have just announced a call for entries for an online exhibition and projection at the upcoming Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville. Looks like a great way to sneak your work into the festival if you missed the deadline for Slideluck Potshow or can’t make it to Charlottesville.

There’s a great discussion over at Boing Boing Gadgets on the (dis)connection between Wired’s print magazine and Wired.com. Spurred by a New York Times report that Wired might die,former Wired.com contributor/architect Joel Johnson talks about the difficulties of marrying print content with online content, the separation of the newsrooms, and other goings-on behind the scenes. The comments are where it really gets interesting. Wired contributors Gary Wolf, Steve Silberman, editor-in-chief Chris Anderson, and a few anonymous Wired writers and Wired.com bloggers weigh in on everything from the magazine side’s liquor cabinet to the influence on content and decisions wielded by CondeNast and its proprietary content management system.

The Photographic Dictionary

The photographic dictionary is dedicated to defining words through the literal, figurative, and personal meanings found in each photograph.” -The Photographic Dictionary

to wit: alligator, fascination, mermaid, urine.