In a move that affected 28 staff members, Sun-Times Media cut photographers and photo editors on May 30, 2013, including John H. White, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1982 for feature photography.
That same day, the paper’s managing editor sent a memo scheduling mandatory staff training in “iPhone photography basics.” One photo editor remained in Chicago: Rich Hein. He was left to supervise a single videographer and whatever freelancers he could find.
The Evolving Role of Picture Editors
The title of the job shifted over time: picture editor, photo editor, director of photography, or assistant managing editor for graphics. But the core responsibilities remained consistent.
Picture editors decided which stories warranted a photographer and which deserved the best talent. They reviewed incoming photos, selecting the most impactful images. They cropped and sequenced photos, shaping the narrative. Then, they fought for space in page-one meetings, a battle that, while unseen by readers, was essential to the final product.
A significant part of the role involved saying no. No to inaccurate captions, misleading crops, or staged photos. The standing rule at most American papers was clear: nothing added, nothing removed, with only darkroom-equivalent adjustments allowed.
Legendary Photo Editors and Iconic Decisions
John G. Morris, a legendary figure in photo editing, held this role at prominent publications. As Life’s picture editor in London in 1944, he assigned Robert Capa to the Normandy landings. Later, at The New York Times, he made two critical decisions that shaped America’s understanding of the Vietnam War.
In 1968, Morris pushed Eddie Adams’ photograph of a South Vietnamese police chief executing a prisoner onto the front page. Four years later, he argued for the publication of an Associated Press photo of a naked girl fleeing a napalm strike, despite the paper’s policy against nudity. Both images won Pulitzers, demonstrating the power of editorial judgment.
The napalm photograph, credited to Nick Ut since 1972, had its authorship questioned in 2025 after a documentary raised doubts. However, the Associated Press found no definitive evidence to change the credit. The editing decision, though, remains undisputed.
Morris’s most famous story involves Capa’s D-Day film. A darkroom assistant overheated a drying cabinet, melting the emulsion off most negatives, leaving only 11 frames. Morris told this version for decades, but a reinvestigation suggested Capa likely shot only those 11 frames initially.
Picture desks served as the final check before publication. They caught fabrications, like Brian Walski’s blended photo from Basra in 2003, and ensured ethical standards. They also decided what the public would not see, such as Richard Drew’s photograph of a man falling from the World Trade Center on September 12, 2001.
These decisions were made in rooms, on the record, by named individuals who could be held accountable. But the environment began to change.
Industry-Wide Decline in Visual Staff
Between 2000 and 2012, the number of photographers, artists, and videographers at American newspapers dropped by 43%, according to the American Society of News Editors census. Reporters and writers fell by 32%, while copy and layout editors declined by 27%. Visual staff were hit hardest and earliest.
The Sun-Times layoffs were a stark example. The managing editor’s memo mandated training in iPhone photography, video editing, and social media. Four of the 28 laid-off photographers returned in March 2014, but as multimedia journalists, focusing on video alongside stills.
This trend extended to magazines. Sports Illustrated cut its last six staff photographers in January 2015, relying instead on a contributor network. A year later, it laid off its photo editors. By 2018, Meredith, which had acquired Time Inc., announced 1,200 job cuts and explored selling several publications.
The picture editing function, once a specialized role, was folded into broader visuals jobs, often handled by a single overworked individual. The meticulous, argumentative review of photos by dedicated editors became a rarity.
However, strong desks still exist, particularly at national papers like The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. Wire services continue to edit and kill pictures, as seen in 2024 when Kensington Palace released a manipulated photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales, promptly retracted by major agencies.
These platforms prioritize engagement over editorial integrity, a stark contrast to the values of traditional picture desks.
Technology’s Role in Shaping Photojournalism
The reporter’s phone and firmware like the Leica M11-P’s Content Credentials have also transformed the industry. While useful, these tools cannot replace the judgment of a trained editor. Provenance metadata can show alterations but not the context, intent, or ethical considerations behind an image.
The reporter’s phone has also become a critical tool, with journalists often shooting, filing, captioning, and writing stories without the oversight of a dedicated picture editor.
The Impact of Firmware and Metadata
Advancements in camera technology, such as the Leica M11-P, have introduced features like Content Credentials, which embed provenance metadata into image files at the moment of capture.
While this metadata can verify whether an image has been altered, it cannot address issues like staged scenes, misleading captions, or unethical cropping—areas where human judgment is essential.
Consequences of Shrinking Picture Desks
As newsrooms shrank, picture desks faced severe cuts. Between 2000 and 2012, visual staff at American newspapers dropped by 43%, the steepest decline among newsroom roles. By 2020, overall newsroom employment had fallen by 57% since 2008. This reduction left few outlets with dedicated picture desks, concentrating editorial judgment in wires, national papers, and a handful of metro publications. Most images now come from wire services, freelancers, or reporters’ phones, bypassing specialized review.
The consequences are visible in both misses and omissions. While desks caught fabrications like Brian Walski’s blended photo in 2003, they also made deliberate choices, such as excluding Richard Drew’s 9/11 image from most American print. Today, such decisions are less structured and more opaque. The decline of picture desks has eroded a layer of accountability, leaving gaps in both ethical enforcement and editorial diversity.
The Concentration of Editorial Judgment
The craft of picture editing has not disappeared entirely but has become concentrated in a few national outlets, wire services, and select metro papers.
Institutions like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post still maintain robust photography departments with dedicated editors and staff photographers.
Wire services continue to play a key role in editing and retracting images, as demonstrated by the swift retraction of a manipulated photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales, by major agencies in 2024.
