Journalism 101: Pictures sell news
Too many people in the journalism field still don’t get it: Great photography tells a story. And it sells the story too. Here’s an example of how it pays — yes, actually pays, in terms of bigger audiences — to understand that.
“D” is a local magazine for the Dallas - Fort Worth (Texas) area. Usually the cover will promote some shopping or dining wonderfulness — these are called “reader service pieces,” and issues with that kind of cover have been shown to sell the most copies. Typically, the cover story for the September 2006 issue was supposed to be the annual “Dallas Shops” issue, about the newest stores and fashion centers.
In among the fluff, however, the magazine was actually running an important news story about the major drought that had shriveled the northern part of Texas for months.
News doesn’t sell, right? At least, not old, depressing news like “Drought is killing our state.” Bummer. Let’s go shopping. Audiences are idiots, aren’t they? Wouldn’t they rather learn about the newest boutiques?
According to the American Society of Magazine Editors:
… when the editors saw the amazing image from staff photographer Elizabeth Lavin, they knew that they had to change covers. … [T]he photo captured the dire situation. (Lake Lavon is not only a big water source for the area but also a popular recreational lake. The stark photography was unsettling and jarring on one level and strangely beautiful on another — exactly what was needed to get Dallas’s attention.) Switching covers at the last minute was controversial, especially for a city magazine … Journalism normally tanks on the newsstand. And D’s circulation and advertising sales departments were not happy with the decision. That is, until the final numbers came in, and the “Parched” cover wound up being one of the best sellers of 2006. It was a risky and bold decision that paid off on many levels.
Source: Stories of the 2007 Best News Cover Winner and Finalists, from the ASME’s annual Best Covers awards, via Journerdism.
I hear all the time in journalism school that journalism in print is not doing well. I myself am a “new media journalist” but understand the aspects of the print world. I’ve come to realize that it’s not that people don’t want the information. We just have to liven it up and not fall into the habit of using old standards and old ideas. These publications need to step it up with livelier photos, exciting design, etc. When they do, they’ll find that these results will become more commonplace.
November 18, 2007 at 11:57 amI believe that picture could be the heart of a story.
Remember that behind a great story there has to be a good mind to plan and to find the right photographer and the right medium to tell the story.
November 18, 2007 at 1:59 pmthe sad thing about this truth is that no matter how many times it is repeated, too few editors actually make it their practice.
November 18, 2007 at 2:22 pm[…] Teaching Online Journalism » Journalism 101: Pictures sell news Too many people in the journalism field still don’t get it: Great photography tells a story. And it sells the story too. (tags: photojournalism) […]
November 19, 2007 at 9:23 am