Monday September 19, 2011-Today we only had one appointment, and that was with Linda Epstein at the McClatchy Tribune News Service. It is the second largest U.S. wire service, second to AP. Epstein explained how the wire works and where the photographers come from. Other than MCT newspaper staffers, the photographers are all free lancers. They are located all over the U.S. as well as in other countries around the world. Freelancers get themselves into the database by having a good online portfolio/website. If Epstein is happy with the work she see's, she'll give you a shot. If you do well on assignment, you're in the database, and if you screw up, that's it, you're out. Although it seems a bit harsh, this gives me much more hope for a potential career in the wire service. Epstein mentioned that it doesn't matter what age you are or if you are fresh out of college, if you can shoot, you're hired. It doesn't necessarily come down to just your shooting skills, it's also incredibly important to get all the facts-who, what, when, where, why, and how. Who shot the photography? When was it shot? And captions need to be thorough. Much better to have too much information, than not enough. A quick weak cutline won't work. Part of our job as photographers is to make the editor's job as simple as we can.
Linda Epstein started out as a photographer at her high school newspaper. She then moved onto college at Syracuse University where she continued her passion of art and photography. Epstein had experience in different internships and has ended up as a senior photo editor for a huge news wire. Even though she's now an editor, she expresses great passion for photography and photographers. She will do anything she can to promote a photo that she thinks deserves it. She understands what photographers go through, and is on a mission to do anything she can to help good photographers get their photos publicized.
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