Photojournalism, along with the rest of the media industry, has a diversity problem. The latest report from World Press Photo (2016) found that over two-thirds of photojournalists surveyed came from Europe and North America, and this is no surprise to those working in the sector.
In this article by Clothilde Goujard at IJNet, photo editor Pauline Eiferman explains how she thought she was choosing a diverse set of photographers for assignments, but they ended up being predominantly from Western countries.
“If you don't pay attention, you are going to end up only publishing male photographers, it just kind of happens if you're not proactive,” she said.
“Sometimes I search for a photographer for hours before I can find someone who's not going to be a white guy that I fly in from America. Once I do find someone that I'm satisfied with, it feels great, because I know that I can count on them to tell that story in the way that I want it to be told.”
Eiferman goes on to describe the initiatives that she takes advantage of when assigning jobs to photojournalists, such as online databases Women Photograph and The African Photojournalism Database.
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