Unethical Publishing Practices in India

I received a call from Better Photography magazine on Friday July 3, with an urgent requirement of a top-quality image that "defined Goa" and would "make photographers want to come to this coastal tourist state in western India." The image was to go with an article on Goa in the magazine.

After a quick email interaction (reproduced below), I was shocked to learn they wanted the images for free! This coming from India's top magazine dedicated to photography enthusiasts and with ads from the majors like Canon and Nikon. What was even more shocking is the reason for the no fee policy - the magazine I was told, had an estimated readership of 150,000. Hence, I suppose, photographers should feel privileged to have their images published.

I felt the need to post my response to this blog to inform others about this major scam. If sufficient photographers and creative individuals let it be known this is unacceptable business practice, perhaps the scene could be changed.

Here is my response to the email from Better Photography:

Hi Neha,

I am very happy to hear of the readership figures of Better Photography magazine. However I am also disturbed over the policy to use images without any fees.

As a professional working in the field, I believe your 'no fees' policy for photographs solicited from individuals (amateurs and professionals) is a bit skewed. While on the one hand BP informs people on making good images, on the other hand the magazine will not support the livelihood of those working in the same field?

At a cover price of Rs 100 and supported by ads of majors in photography, the publication is purely commercial and not a non-profit. As such, not paying for images and to say that photographers should be happy with 'publicity' in the form of a credit line "given the 150,000 odd readership", is an un-ethical business practice.

If viewership figures is the only criteria then photographers would be better off with images on Flickr where the hits are in the millions and visibility much higher. But of course, for us in the field, it's not just about visibility but also hard cash.

Unfortunately, this practice is being followed by more and more reputed publications - newspapers, magazines and journals, stepping on the already flattened stomachs of photographers and other creative individuals and, in particular, photojournalists.

But as a premier photography publication in India, Better Photography would be expected to do better.

I do hope BP changes its policy to show the way for other publications in India. If not you may just be killing the industry already reeling from editorial cuts in mainstream publications.

In the meanwhile, I must decline having my images published in BP for free.

Sincerely,

Gasper DSouza

gasperdesouza.com

Here are the previous emails (in reverse cronological order) to make the scenario clear:

Hello Gasper,

Our publication is purely an educative one, meant for hobbyists and

enthusiasts. Our magazine is a well-read journal of 160 pages. We

print around 25,000 copies and every single copy is read by around 5-7

people, making our readership about 150,000. We get some advertising

in our magazine, which allows us to keep our cover price to INR 100.

And our aim is to showcase good photography. In light of this, we do

not offer a fee.

However, the prerogative to decline is entirely yours. But if you feel

you would be comfortable sharing the image with us please send us an

original high resolution file of the image.

Warm Regards

Neha

Email requesting terms and my normal publishing fee:

Hi Neha,

I can send you the high res images as required from my archives. Give me a couple of hours.

Meanwhile, since this is the first time, do let me know your terms of use etc. My normal magazine per image rate is .....

regards

#gasper

Response requesting high-res files of two photographs (no mention of terms).

Hello Gasper,

These are the images we would like to publish. I am attaching the image as well as the tag from the link you have sent.

The tag is : Other_Goa_12.jpg

The images should be 8x10-inches for Vertical images and 17x11.5-inches for Horizontal images at 300 dpi, so that if any image needs to be used a full-page bleed or as a double spread, we can.

Warm Regards

Neha

Initial email from me, following telephonic conversation, requesting images on Goa:

Hey Neha,

Sending you a few low-res pics that I dug out. Also check out the feature at: http://www.gasperdesouza.com/features/othergoa.htm

Let me know if any meet your requirements and terms of publishing. I can send you high-res file once finalised.

#gasper

I am all for helping causes and actively work in community media but I do not think a big media house is a "cause" that deserves free work - whether photography or other creative forms of expression.

I leave it to readers to judge.

NOTE: Better Photography is published by Infomedia 18 Ltd who also publish other big magazines like Chip (IT) and Overdrive (auto) with indirect control by TV 18 (CNBC TV 18 and CNBC Awaaz)

Newspaper Redesign: The Navhind Times, Goa

The Navhind Times - Promo Video from Gasper DSouza on Vimeo.

When I was asked to come in as a consultant for the redesign of the Navhind Times, my proposal was that the paper looks at the project as a re-think and not just a redesign. Design is an element to support content and not something that needs to get "in the face" of the reader.

With this in mind, every design element proposed and introduced in the new Navhind Times serves a purpose and is not just ornamental.

The re-design sought to address 6 basic areas:

• Packaging
• Colour Coding
• Reader Interactivity
• Usability
• Unified Typography
• Modular Layouts

1. Packaging and Colour Coding:

Taking into consideration lifestyles of the modern reader, the product was packaged for efficient reading.

At the broadest level, the sections were packaged for logical flow through the paper. First comes the hard news sections beginning with Page 1 and followed by local news, national and global news and ending in the Opinions page(s). Then comes the two page Business section. This is followed by the two entertainment and events pages - Buzz. The paper ends in the 3 page sports section.

However, due to various realities within the organisation, this logical flow unfortunately, could not be implemented in the final release. Hopefully, it will be incorporated at some later date.

Sections have been colour-coded, a unique concept, to give readers a better sense of where they are in the paper. The colours also go with the type of content -

• Blue for hard news
• Lively magenta for entertainment
• Green for business and
• Flaming orange for sports

The packaging then extends to the individual pages and stories. Similar stories are grouped together on pages for easy accessibility. For instance, crime and accidents, previously scattered through all the local pages, are now grouped in a box on P3.

P2 has scope for a daily feature/centerpiece story with more visuals and graphics. This automatically lifts the entire page, previously filled with a large number of small items.

Individual stories are also better packaged. Templates for sidebars make for convenient projection of story highlights for the reader. Visuals and graphics accompany key stories throughout the paper and make for better packaged stories.

2. Reader Interactivity:

A newspaper that does not involve its readers actively is headed for extinction. Today's readers do not want to be talked down to. We want to be involved in the conversation.

With this in mind, I have introduced scope for involving readers throughout the paper, in individual stories. The paper now has both email and SMS for interactivity. Editors can now invite readers to share their thoughts via SMS or email.

In the earlier format, readers could, at best, send in a letter to the editor (on the opinions page) or an article. There was no scope for contributing short "thoughts". Through the "Shoutbox" on P5, readers can now send in their brief comments instead of formal letters. This is in tune with the trends for social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

3. Usability:

Today's readers have fast-paced lifestyles and newspapers need to keep this in mind. The new design acknowledges this situation. Stories now have multiple entry points to guide readers to stories of interest.

• Headlines: The headline remains the key entry point for the reader. But in addition to this, there are several more points of entry.
• Decks: A deck above the headline now qualifies the headline with more detail.
• Summary Graf: Key stories on a page come with a summary paragraph (two or three short sentences) that gives "on-the-go" readers a gist of the story.
• Sidebars: These graphical elements give readers yet another entry point into the story with a small graphic and a bulleted list of key facts of the story.

On the same point of usability, the two magazines were to be converted to the tabloid format. The reasoning being the tabloid format is a more convenient format compared to the broadsheet. This is particularly useful in the case of the Sunday magazine Panorama that has in-depth articles. While the concept was accepted for the Saturday lifestyle magazine - Zest, it was rejected for Panorama. I'm not convinced with the argument that tabloid equals "lesser journalism." Worldwide, the trend towards tabloid is catching on and adopted by respected dailies.

4. Unified Typography:

A key change in the new design is unification of typography throughout the paper. As with other design elements, type is kept simple - just two related families in the entire publication. A combination of the two families is used for all elements on the page. The lead headline uses a dominant font while all other elements use variants with lesser weightage.

The special sections and magazines have also been brought into the unified typography scheme for the first time, to create a related look throughout the publication.

5. Modular Layouts:

Modular advertisement layouts was suggested as a design concept to go with the modular story design. The newspaper used a side stairwell design for ads that rise to the top of the page. The modular approach would ensure ads align horizontally and do not project to the top of the page. This format keeps both the reader and advertiser in mind.

This concept was followed on the initial launch, especially for P1 but then reverted to the traditional stairwell layout following "advertiser demand". Nonetheless, I am happy readers got to experience the Navhind Page 1 as I had envisioned, even if for just a couple of days.

These are the key points of the new design. Despite the last moment modifications, most notably in the flow of sections through the paper and modular ad layouts, I hope readers will like the product. Going by early reactions the new look seems to have gone down pretty well with traditional readers. What remains to be seen is if it will draw in new readers. But that's where compelling content comes in.

Before & After:

Page One:

Page Two:

Opinions:

Buzz (Society, Entertainment & Events):

Zest (Saturday lifestyle magazine, now in tabloid size):

Panorama (Sunday magazine):

Watch my video guide to the new look Navhind Times: