Michael Fox Images

What is the state of photojournalism? Even agreeing a definition of what a photojournalist's role is meant to be, can be challenging. And with significant changes to the news industry continuing to drive job losses, rumors, and a broad range of speculation, the future of photojournalism is driving some raging debates.

Some claim that citizen photojournalism is a viable alternative. An alternative to what?
For capturing breaking news, a member of the public with a decent cell-phone camera can be highly effective at delivering the goods on a scene opening up in front of them. But that is just news photography - capturing images of an event to support a written report.

So how is photojournalism different? I always come back to its purpose - what am I trying to achieve by taking one, or a series, of photographs? It is to effectively, and as objectively as possible, tell a story. With continued migration from print to web, and from static to video reporting, it is becoming crucial to build in an element of entertainment in the way that a story is told. In that way, a story-teller will more fully engage an audience, with the intended result being that action will be taken to make a difference.

That may seem idealistic, but it should be the aim of every sincere photojournalist. This is not about us. This is about the subjects we represent.