Apparently, if you’re really smart and you want to be a boss, you know that being openly creative is a career problem. So what happens in an industry that needs innovation, like newspapers, if your leaders are the product of this kind of tradition? Chunka Mui writes on Forbes.com:
First, many current leaders are the product of past biases against creativity. This calls into question their likelihood and, perhaps, ability to be creative. It might also be hard for them to inspire, recognize and lead the kind of creative, innovative moves now required.
Second, the smartest people have learned over time that being openly creative is not rewarded. If open creativity has long been a career-limiting move, the rational response to admonitions to pursue creativity and innovation is to resist or adopt a “wait-and-see” attitude.
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For the impatient ones in the crowd . . .
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Judging is underway at POYi. In years past, it was tucked away comfortably in Missouri and the results came out quietly. now, they are posting the winning images in real time, but not the photographers names until the contest is over. The New York Times photography blog LENS has an interesting piece by James Estrin. His opening paragraph is on point:
I have always thought that photojournalism contests lead to bad photography. They encourage young photographers to make images like the ones that won in previous years instead of pursuing their personal vision.
His also admits that like all of us, he has entered the contests and anxiously awaited the results. And I also noticed that the feature photo category, once the home of community photojournalism, is again completely filled with photos from crisis regions. Estrin also mentions this LA Times multimedia photo essay on gang violence by Barbara Davidson that is one of the prize winners, although we can’t congratulate her yet because her name is currently being withheld.
