On the Cover Again

I shared with you a few weeks ago about a photo of mine that was going to be featured on the cover of a local magazine. It's certainly not Vogue or National Geographic, but I'm flattered nonetheless. In an age of the instant gratification that LCD screens, computer monitors, and the Internet can bring, there's something very special about seeing your work in print, especially when it's a stack of magazines. Jones Living is a publication of the Jones County News, my hometown newspaper. It's a great local newspaper and a really well done magazine, even if my photo is on the cover.

Opportunites for photographers to see their images in print magazines and newspapers have plummeted in recent years. Since 2008, nearly a thousand U.S. based print magazines have either folded completely or gone to a Web only presence. That's a tremendous number of product, glamour, fashion, landscape, and photojournalistic photographers looking for somewhere else to sell their services. One of the latest is U.S. News and World Report, once the third largest news magazine, which will cease subscription sales in December 2010. And since 2008, 166 U.S. newspapers have ceased printing.

But while more and more content has either gone online or dark altogether, I do think there is a place for print journalism to survive. Local newspapers and magazines offer unique coverage that metropolitan, regional, or national news outlets, whether print or electronic, will rarely, if ever cover. And personally, I enjoy the tactile feel of a magazine in my hand. And, of course, I enjoy seeing my images in glossy print.