Progress That Hurts

Today I read that our leading newspaper is sacking 35
editorial staff and 30 photographers.
How can we be surprised? Who amongst us does not seek
news from the Internet and TV news services? (Or even prefer ‘realty’ TV shows  and celebrity gossip to news stories?). The days of newspaper news gathering are
sadly over. It’s a distressing situation and I am disappointed that the quality photos taken by talented photographers (some of whom I have admired for decades) will no longer appear; to be replaced by amateur shots taken by the public or ‘stock photographs’ sourced from the ubiquitous ‘Getty Images’ – (or even Google Images?)
Editorial opinions and reports will dwindle to ‘stories’ produced electronically or provided by hacks from anywhere.
It is a sad situation.
 However, what is a news organisation to do? Their income has been slipping downwards for years. The general public are deserting newspapers and the advertising revenue is grinding to a halt. And yet – and yet  -  I will miss the newspaper in its current form. I will miss the quality and
correctness of the writing and the quality and sheer beauty (at times) of the photography; photographs taken by people with a passion for their work.
 And yet again, I am as responsible for this type of ‘progress’ as anyone else. I have been reading the news on-line -  and reading the commentary and even posting comments (in place of writing
‘a Letter to The Editor’)  -  all on-line.
What to do about all this? There is nothing we can do, I fear.
 Pity for the people who have lost their jobs – and what will they do now? 
Photographers will find it hard to compete in a whole world full of photographers; those emerged since the advent of the mobile phone camera and the iPod, iPad devices that seem to be used quite successfully by everyone older than about three years of age.
That’s progress for you.
 Not progress that I necessarily want, but progress for which I am, in part, responsible.
 This is one time when I am glad I was able to appreciate some of the (so-called) Good Times past.

 And, yes, I sourced the accompanying pic from Google Images.

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