Christian Science Monitor to End Daily Print Edition, Move to Web-Only Strategy

The Christian Science Monitor will no longer produce a weekday print edition, becoming the first major daily paper to appear online only, its publisher announced Tuesday. The cost-cutting measure makes it the first national newspaper to largely give up on print. MORE>>

"31 Days – 31 Photos" By SB Sun Photo Boss

Rick Sforza, photo editor at The San Bernardino Sun, has posted a sweet lil' blog in which he's set about taking a single picture for the project each day. Called 31 Days – 31 Photos, Sforza describes his effort as "A process to reengage the photographer part of my brain in an attempt to strengthen the photo editor part of my brain."

About his project Rick writes:

"Day 13 was really the moment it all came together for me. It's when I remembered, really remembered not just paying it lip service, that everyone has a story, and they'll trip over themselves to tell it to you. Sometimes you don't even need to ask for the story, all you need to do is listen. And perhaps it's a little smarmy, I but I believe it's a great honor and responsibility to be the 'steward' of other people's stories."

Check it out, you'll be inspired.

Lewis Wins Editor & Publisher Photo Award

William Wilson Lewis III, staff photographer at The Press-Enterprise, has won first place in the news category of Editor & Publisher's Photo of the Year contest for papers with circulation between 100,000 and 249,999.

The photo was taken as part of a project called "Meth's Legacy," a look at the prevalence of meth use and its societal toll in Riverside and San Bernardino counties

The photo shows a sobbing Amy Gentry as she is arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and her distraught daughters Melissa and Kayla Rasdall as they are to be placed with Child Protective Services.

Lewis and a reporter accompanied police as they raided the home because they suspected methamphetamine was being manufactured there.

August 2008 Sports Clip Contest Winners

First: Mark J. Terrill, The Associated Press

Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser celebrates winning the gold in the women's 100-meter final during the athletics competitions in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing Sunday, August 17, 2008.

Second: Ed Crisostomo, The Press-Enterprise

Pitcher Francisco Rodriguez celebrates his 50th save as Los Angeles Angels the Twins, 5-3.

Third: Mark J. Terrill, The Associated Press.

United States' Michael Phelps sticks out his tongue as he prepares for the men's 400-meter individual medley during swimming competitions in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, August 10, 2008.

Comments: The winning image had so much vitality with the body expression and sharpness our sports editor thought it was an image she had not seen. Second was a shot you are not expecting and really captured the emotion of the moment.

August 2008 Portrait Clip Contest Winners

First: Mark Zaleski, The Press-Enterprise
Felipe Garcia Villamil, center, signs a song with the Groupo Emikeke during the Ifa Festival in San Bernardino. The festival is a gathering of followers of the Nigerian Orisa religion.

Second: Ed Crisostomo, The Press-Enterprise
L-R Super Cr3w members, Abenamar Honrubia, 25, of Las Vegas ("Ben"), Mike Carrasco, 25, of Los Angeles ("Murda"), Ronnie Abaldonado, 25, of Las Vegas ("Ronnieboy"), Angelito Castillo Casal, 25, of Riverside ("Vex"), RJ Puno, 26, of Riverside ("Rockadile"), and Jon Cruz, 25, of Riverside ("Do-Knock") strike a pose.

Third: Mark Zaleski, The Press-Enterprise
Menifee school district trustee Rita Peters of Quail Valley prepares for a segment of Rachel Ray's show featuring America's coolest bathrooms. One of her bathrooms rooms decor is a Betty Boop theme.

Comments: Most were nice portraits that any picture editor would be glad to have from daily assignments, but they were predictable. The winner really captured the passion of the musician and all the there aspects were right on. Second place winner was well executed but some thought it did give enough insight into the subjects.

August 2008 Feature Clip Contest Winners

First: Rodrigo Peña, The Press-Enterprise
Tiny grasshoppers, each about 1/4-inch long, gather on a pumpkin leaf in Palm Desert on Thursday, August 28, 2008.

Second: Ed Crisostomo, The Press-Enterprise
Juan Perez, left, of West Los Angeles and his wife Teresa Perez rides through a water spray at Lake Gregory. Juan Perez says he and wife are spending time together during their vacation.
Third: Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise
Los Angeles Dodgers fans battle for a foul ball in the 5th inning of the game Friday in Los Angeles August 1, 2008.

HM: Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise
Skateborder Danny Mayer casts a shadow during men's Skate Vert competition at X-Games 14 Saturday, August 14 in Carson.

Comments: Most everyone thought this was though category but the winner stood for its unusualness as a feature. It was a photographer seeing something out of the ordinary and capturing it in a nice light.

August 2008 News Clip Contest Winners

First: Thomas R. Cordova, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Ontario firefighters battle a structure fire in the the early Sunday, August 3, 2008 in Ontario.

Second: Stan Lim, The Press-Enterprise

Sgt. Timothy Salvador, 20 of Bakersfield, says goodbye to wife Tyanne, 20, and three-month-old daughter McKenna Friday, August 22, 2008 in San Bernardino as he prepares for deployment to Iraq with 1st Battalion, 185th Armor Regiment.

Third: Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
West Nile Virus victim Alfonso Arredondo, 83, lies in bed as his son Carl Arredondo, 50, caresses his head at home Wednesday, August 13, 2008 in San Dimas.

Comments: Any of these could have switched places very easily but there has to be a winner so... the one we chose was another average spot news event that the photographer turned into a beautiful image, incorporating the light and smoke. Second place captured the raw emotion of the imminent breakup of this military family. Third had nice composition and captured an emotional moment without needing to show the tears.

August 2008 Monthly Clip Contest Point Standings

Mark Zaleski (The Press-Enterprise) 310
Terry Pierson (The Press-Enterprise) 250
Ed Crisostomo (The Press-Enterprise ) 210
Stan Lim (The Press-Enterprise) 200
Will Lester( Inland Valley Daily Bulletin ) 175
Keith Birmingham ( Pasadena Star-News ) 165
Robert Gauthier Los Angeles Times) 140
Christina House (Freelance) 80
Mark J. Terrill (Associated Press) 70
Alex Collins (Glendale News-Press ) 60
Sean Hiller (Daily Breeze) 50
Hans Gutknecht (Los Angeles Daily News ) 50
Alex Collins (Glendale News-Press ) 60
William Wilson Lewis III ( The Press-Enterprise) 35
Gabriel Fenoy (Claremont Courier) 35
Greg Vojtko (The Press-Enterprise) 35
Sarah Reingewirtz (San Gabriel Valley News ) 35
Rodrigo(The Press-Enterprise) 30
Raul Roa ( San Gabriel Valley Tribune) 30
Jennifer Cappuccio(Freelance) 30
Ringo H.W. Chiu (Freelance ) 30
David Pardo (Freelance) 30
Amanda Lucidon (The Press-Enterprise ) 25
Jason Redmond (Ventura County Star) 20
John McCoy (Los Angeles Daily News) 20
Scott Varley (Daily Breeze) 15
Karen Quincy Loberg (Ventura County Star) 10
Gabriel Luis Acosta (The Sun) 10
Thomas R. Cordova( Inland Valley Daily Bulletin) 10
Frank Bellino ( The Press-Enterprise) 10
Tammy Abbott (Burbank Leader) 5
Marilyn Chung (The Desert Sun ) 5

Aug Clip Contest Winners Announced

News: First: Thomas R. Cordova Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Second: Stan Lim The Press-Enterprise

Third: Will Lester Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Sports: First: Mark J. Terrill The Associated Press

Second: Ed Crisostomo The Press-Enterprise

Third: Mark J. Terrill The Associated Press

Feature: First: Rodrigo Peña The Press-Enterprise

Second: Ed Crisostomo The Press-Enterprise

Third: Terry Pierson The Press-Enterprise

HM: Terry Pierson The Press-Enterprise

Portrait: First: Mark Zaleski The Press-Enterprise

Second: Ed Crisostomo The Press-Enterprise

Third: Mark Zaleski The Press-Enterprise

Judges: South Florida Sun-Sentinel AME Visuals Tim Frank, Sports Editor Kathy Laughlin, Director of Photography Taimy Alvarez, Dep. Director of Photography Rolando Otero, Photo Assignment Editor George Wilson, Metro Photo Editor Amy Beth Bennett and Staff Photographer Carline Jean.

Winning photos to be posted shortly.

"Black Lenses" Seen Making A Comeback At Major Events, observes PPAGLA Prez

PPAGLA President John McCoy has observed that "Black lenses" are making a comeback at major events. He attributes their return to the phenomenal success of Nikon's new D3 full-frame camera. McCoy reports "It's about half black lenses and half white lenses now."

Who's using Nikon's latest greatest professional camera? Who's kicking themselves for jumping ship and switching to Canon EOS cameras in recent years? Tell us about it.

Image: from NikonUSA website

Culture Maven/Former Magazine Editor Tina Brown Leads New Web Site, "The Daily Beast"

Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, has debuted a new web site, The Daily Beast. Take a look at it and read about it in the The New York Times.

Next PPAGLA Seminar Is Now Being Planned

The next PPAGLA Seminar is in the planning stages. A venue is being looked at as this message is being posted. In the meantime, here's a look back at our New World of Media event at CSU Fullerton last March from Raul Roa's excellent photojournalism blog. I'm glad he had the presence of mind to make some photos that day, many of us didn't. Thanks, Raul!

Please let us know what sessions you would like to see that may have been missing from the last event. We want the seminar to be of maximum benefit to everyone so suggestions for programs are always welcome. If you know of an expert in our field whose expertise would be of value to our membership, please let us know.

We Can Post Video Here!

Here's an example of the video that can be posted on this blog:



This was shot with a Canon PowerShot G9 and edited in iMovie08 on my Intel iMac, saved as "Export as Quicktime, Broadband High" settings that resulted in a 3MB .mov file. Let me know what you think.

Experimental Blog

I am experimenting with this Blogger web site to see if we can't come up with a cost-effective means of getting word out to members about contest results, standings, etc. Let me know what you think.