Lauren + Trent

I recently was able to shoot a great couple! Neighbors, Lauren and Trent, would use the power box in between their yards as a meeting spot to talk. It's no surprise that Trent proposed to Lauren. Lauren is gorgeous, but that isn't all, her bubbly spirit and warm smile is always a joy to me. Trent is such an incredibly generous man. He quickly became one of my favorites guys around when he bought Chick-Fil-A for us for dinner. What a great day!

Here are a few photos from their e-Session.



I let Trent take a few photos of his lovely bride-to-be. I think it was his favorite part.
This is my favorite photo from the day.

E-Shoot: Trent & Lauren

Trent and Lauren are definitely one of my favorite couples to date. Lauren is absolutely stunning and Trent couldn't be more enthralled with her. Throughout the shoot he repeatedly told me, "Isn't she gorgeous?" Here is a small collage of a few of the photo from their engagement shoot.

The Future of Journalism

Honestly, the entire idea of the government funding any portion of the press as a whole is enough to send genuine chills up any journalists spine. Newspapers and broadcasts have often bucked the idea of government funding, however, with the invention of the internet and the easily accessible communication, it seems that the ability of newspaper to receive funding at the older rates may be declining.

Unfortunately, it seems as if newspapers are now finding themselves stuck in the black hole that is the internet with little chance of escape. Although publications like the Wall Street Journal are making their subscriptions available online for a fee (if even in small “micropayments.” I suspect that technology will soon become the boss of the news industry. Why should the average Joe purchase a subscription to the Journal when his news automatically shows up on his or her Google homepage or on his or her iPhone?
Because news industries did not react quickly enough to the changing technology of the “free” enterprise known as the internet, they will have a hard time convincing readers to now pay for something that they received for free.

As to the plan set forth in The Reconstruction of Journalism, I do not agree with the governmental matching proposal. This report by Leonard Downie, Jr. and Michael Schudson suggests that governmental funding would match funds raised by independent papers. This concerns me because it feels like it would then give the government 50% control of individual papers. It feels like this would give the government a sort of monopoly over the papers. A monopoly that paper have tried so long to escape.

To me, it seems like the most logical thing that will occur will one of two situations. One, newspapers will charge for virtual form and will see a drop in readership and eventually (maybe) see a re-growth after the shock value has worn off. However, for that to work, a substantial amount of respectable papers would all have to agree to begin charging for virtual format.

The second possibility is that newspapers will be forced to take the federal funding to survive.
Regardless, journalism will always exist in one form or another. Rather it be through a paper or a Twitter, someone will always have to gather the news and distribute it. News sources will survive based upon their ability to adapt to the ever growing world of technology.

http://www.minnpost.com/insideminnpost/2009/10/19/12627/a_modest_proposal_for_federal_funding_of_journalism