What is the role and function of a photo journalist?

Answer 1

Basic functions of a photo journalist are: To take photo assignments and turn them over in a timely fashion - meeting deadlines, sticking to the highest journalistic ethics and providing still and in this day and age - video - of news events.

Answer 2

the role of a photojournalist is to report directly to a section editor, accompany a print and/or broadcast journalist to provide image media on-scene. then submit-all b-roll (every shot taken) to the section editor (and usually a photo-editor, a trained graphic artist) on-time. The primary function is to provide visual information to a news item or story that prose cannot. historical of examples of excellence in photo-journalism include joe rosenthal's iconic shot of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima. Photo-journalism though, is not always made by professionals and not always still-images. Perhaps the most well-known examples are the amateur video shot of the Rodney King beating. Professional phtojournalists via helicopter, filming oj simpson as he led police on a low-speed chase; notable because few people in the western-world DIDNT watch that news event unfold live--it had massive gravity, as did the other examples provided. For a comprehensive overview of photo-journalism, I recommend the the film 'Flags of our Fathers,' which is built around the iconic shot by Rosenthal.