Photogs

jpeppas · **Posted:** Thu Feb 27, 2003 10:08 pm

Our photo department has a real problem identifying and then spelling the names correctly on the captions for the photos they submit.
Do other papers have this problem?They also write long, elaborate cutlines for photos and then complain when they don't run. The complaint volume goes up if a photo gets cropped.Maybe this has been a post before but I'm a newbie, so pardon my ignorance.

aneye4detail · **Posted:** Thu Feb 27, 2003 10:43 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Jeremy Peppas:
Our photo department has a real problem identifying and then spelling the names correctly on the captions for the photos they submit.
Do other papers have this problem?They also write long, elaborate cutlines for photos and then complain when they don't run. The complaint volume goes up if a photo gets cropped.Maybe this has been a post before but I'm a newbie, so pardon my ignorance.<hr></blockquote>Shouldn't the reporter be responsible for the correct spelling of names?

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Thu Feb 27, 2003 11:02 pm

Photographer-provided information can be regarded as only the broadest of hints. I mean no slam at photographers, but that's generally the way it is. The relative few who do provide accurate caption information do so in vain, because you've got to double-check it anyhow.
As far as the captions go, tell the photographer to go take a picture or something and leave you alone.

tim · **Posted:** Fri Feb 28, 2003 12:03 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by blanp:
Photographer-provided information can be regarded as only the broadest of hints. I mean no slam at photographers, but that's generally the way it is. The relative few who do provide accurate caption information do so in vain, because you've got to double-check it anyhow.
As far as the captions go, tell the photographer to go take a picture or something and leave you alone.<hr></blockquote>I have always thought this is a problem more in sports than elsewhere due to the nature of the business. I believe this is because sports usually happens right on deadline. If I am wrong on that, someone please set me straight.Too often a photo caption has a basketball player "going for a rebound" when in actuality he is going up for a shot, or "reaching for a loose ball" when he is dribbling the ball. Sports reporters are often filing remotely right on deadline and aren't always available to answer questions about photo captions. Without accurate information from the photogs, the poor guy on the sports desk is often left to his own imagination.One tip for the names situation is to have rosters on hand before the game or, failing that, tell your photog take a picture of the scorebook. Good luck with that.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Fri Feb 28, 2003 5:23 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Jeremy Peppas:
Our photo department has a real problem identifying and then spelling the names correctly on the captions for the photos they submit.
Do other papers have this problem?
<hr></blockquote>most if not all papers have this problem. many photographers want to be called photojournalists, and many are as professional as reporters, if not more so, but some don't know or care about the need for factual accuracy and context.however, a rule of thumb in some newsrooms -- to trust the reporter over the photographer if a discrepancy exists -- can lead to errors. some photographers are more accurate than reporters on a regular basis. but you never know when the more reliable one will be wrong and the less reliable one will be right.if a discrepancy exists that can't be settled quickly and definitively through reference material, then i talk to the reporter, the photographer, or both.some photographers have better news judgment than reporters. i've found what should have been the lede of stories in cutline info, and had that info inserted into stories. once, a city desk agreed to rewrite a story with such info as the lede.but for a photographer to gripe about his or her info not being used as written is ludicrous.crops are another matter ...

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