I want to alert my readers that the NY Times has unearthed a story so big that it earned placement on the first page of the National section of the Sunday paper (taking up six columns across the lower third of the page).
Here is the scoop: they learned that the official White House photographer has first crack at presidential pix; and sometimes shares the best ones directly over social networks without the helping hand of a newspaper, essentially scooping the papers and creating tension with photo journalists).
I don't think this breaking story will end here. The Times might be hot on the trail of an even bigger one; about how the White House and even some companies hire murky figures called communications (or PR) pros.
These people have inside access to the organizations' leaders – and sometimes publish the nice stories in suspicious documents called press releases. Through miracles of modern technology, the puff pieces can be shared with readers directly – again, without the helping hand of a real publication. These efforts, too, could create tension with journalists over access to sources and info.
There are so many takeaways and angles here, that I don't know where to begin. Perhaps one thing it proves is the old saw that you really should not pick fights with those who buy ink by the barrel.
