Photo Managers Create Own Association

By: Wayne Robins With a focus on crisper relations between the newsroom and the darkroom, the Associated Press Photo Managers (APPM) has become journalism's newest professional organization.

"There has been a group of photo managers who've gotten together informally over the years to talk about issues in the profession," said Jim Dooley, photo director at Newsday in Melville, N.Y., and APPM interim president. "We felt there was a need for photo managers to come together."

APPM already has about 100 paid members representing "a wide spectrum of people from small, midsize, and large papers," according to Dooley. One issue of common interest is the seamless integration of photo departments and newsrooms, which at some newspapers have mutually aloof cultures.

"There are some strong, shining examples of newspapers in which photo managers have been integrated into the newsroom structure, and many, many in which that is not the case," Dooley said.

The new organization has aligned itself closely with the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME) association. APPM's first national meeting, in fact, will take place at the APME convention Oct. 10-13 in Milwaukee.