Monday, April 6, 2009

An important message to Buffalo.com photographers.

This message is going to all Buffalo.com interns, but is specifically geared towards our photo interns.

This morning, I have received three reports from local individuals and businesses complaining about the behavior of our photographers at events.

In addition, I have noticed a precipitous and continued decline in the quality of our photo galleries, and a severe lack of “smile for the camera” shots.

This can not stand.

Here are the rules of the Spotted program, which I discussed with you when you joined the program:

1.) You WILL NOT attend events as a Buffalo.com photographer unless you specifically clear it with Deanna or myself.

2.) You are responsible for adhering to the “60-40” rule of “smile for the camera” shots. If it does not appear that you made an honest effort to get to “60-40,” your gallery will be removed from the site.

3.) You will comport yourself in a professional manner when representing Buffalo.com. I know this is an unpaid internship, but when you attend events, you are not a guest – you are a member of the media. You must keep this distinction clear at all times.

From this point forward, I will remove photographers from the program who do not adhere to the rules listed above.

I do not wish to lose photographers, and I feel I have a good relationship with most of the people in the program. Unfortunately, I feel as though I have been taken advantage of in some cases, and this must end today.

I am angry and concerned – angry because I feel that the program is being damaged by the actions of some, and concerned that the Buffalo.com name is being sullied in the community.

I apologize to anyone who follows the rules of the program and receives this unpleasant email.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me immediately.

3 comments:

Ben said...

uh...

Neelrad said...

Thank you for keeping our troup in line. The photographers that do follow the rules (or try our best)would appreciate it if Buffalo.com does not get tarnished because of a few bugs in the program.

Erica M said...

I agree. It's very difficult to constantly ask people to smile, but that is the entire point of Spotted! I know everyone feels that they want to have a decent number of pictures for their gallery, but I'm sure Ben would be happier with 75 decent pics than 300 and the ratio is blown. Let's try our best to keep up the great work we are known for.