Georgia newspaper chain closes its photo department, tells reporters to take pictures

Two weeks after the Chicago tabloid laid off its 28-person photo staff, the Southern Community Newspapers Inc. (SCNI) chain in Georgia — five dailies and two weeklies — closed its photo department. Three photographers were dismissedand a fourth staffer was named company videographer.

SCNI chief executive Michael Gebhart says in an email that “for the last few years I have preached to our newsrooms that the era of specialization was overand we were moving into an age in which journalists need to be multi-faceted in their approach.”