From MSNBC to NYC, a Gathering Storm

In a recent e-mail to friends and colleagues, Storm wrote: “Moving forward, I believe Corbis has the ability to drive positive changes and develop new business opportunities that our industry needs to prosper. As a client to Corbis over the years, I also understand that there are issues to overcome and changes to be made to make it a top-tier destination for photojournalism. That challenge is the opportunity.”

Poynter.org asked Storm to elaborate on those thoughts in an e-mail Q&A:

Poynter.org: Looking back, what accomplishments are you most proud of?

Brian Storm: I’m proud of my team and that we brought high-end photojournalism to a mass audience. We made the still image matter in a very TV-centric environment at MSNBC and we injected a strong ethical approach into a medium that requires visual sophistication.

I’ve tried my best to represent the profession of photojournalism at MSNBC and at numerous speaking opportunities around the country. I always felt it was my responsibility to share the amazing experiences I was having with those in the rest of the profession. I know some of my crazy ideas affected others, for better or worse, but hopefully inspired them to get in the game to help make new media a great place for photojournalism:

Poynter.org: In your opinion, has multimedia convergence reached its potential in the U.S., and how will it continue to change?

Storm: I think we are still in the first chapter of a rather lengthy novel. No medium in history has reached 50 percent penetration of U.S. households as fast the Internet. It’s hard to argue with new media’s impact on our society today.

MSNBC is a fascinating convergence model and a testament to the importance of alliance building. The core partnership between NBC and Microsoft has been very successful. The technology solutions we created in the Microsoft culture and affiliation with TV programs such as Dateline, The Today Show and Nightly News helped to drive enormous traffic and raise brand awareness. Partnering with premier content sources such as Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and CNBC and NBC Sports franchises raised the quality of the site in profound ways over the years. In many ways, MSNBC has the most converged product in the history of journalism.

Of course, having great relationships and producing a great product doesn’t guarantee financial success. As with photojournalism, the biggest obstacle holding back the advancement of new media is the lack of a robust revenue stream. The short run is about getting to break even and that will obviously create resource constraints that slow down innovation. With that said, it’s clear to me that the next generation news consumer will be wired and will gravitate towards the experiences that meet their personalized needs in a go-go world. Much of the foundation is in place for new media to take the next step to richer storytelling, but the advertising, subscription and transaction models need to evolve before the journalism in new media can reach its full potential.

Technical innovation is absolutely required to be competitive in business today. Corbis is architected as a digital media agency built to partner with and promote the next generation visual journalist. Photography is the backbone of the organization but there are huge opportunities to expand reporting techniques and the packaging of the world’s events.

I’ve been helping photojournalists to adapt their coverage to the possibilities of new media for some time and that’s starting to happen now. I [recently] wrote about some of those ideas and hope to continue pushing on these concepts at Corbis.

Poynter.org: What is the greatest challenge facing photojournalism today?

Storm: Probably the top, or certainly near the top, are the business woes of our profession.

The business of photography has changed. Many don’t want to accept that change and those people will spend hours tapping out e-mails about how it used to be just a handshake. Those days are over and we all need to work hard to move the profession forward in this new era.

The Internet ushered in new publishing opportunities and also forced the corporate world to implement written contracts. Of course, many of the industry’s contracts aren’t favorable to photographers, especially in a work-for-hire scenario, but the education process is in full motion and photographers are making smarter decisions every day thanks to the global communication of e-mail and volunteer efforts like the Editorial Photographer’s Group. In the end we’ll all be better off for having a contract in place that details the relationship and we need to keep working together to create the right balance.

While the Internet created frenzy over rights I believe it will create lucrative business opportunities for photography which in turn will finance more sophisticated coverage of important stories. One of the areas I will focus on at Corbis is developing ideas I’ve had at MSNBC for leveraging the transactional capabilities of new media. My goal is to build new markets for photography that will allow clients to produce a more sophisticated product and create cash flow for photographers.

One of the keys is creating a universal standard for tagging images so that everyone in the profession, big agency or independent, can benefit. I’m anxious to partner with photographers, publications and agencies to make this a reality as it’s going to take alliance building to be successful with this model. I’m convinced we can unlock the enormous value readers place on quality photography by enabling seamless transactions.

There’s no doubt in my mind that photojournalism will continue to survive, but we can’t continue on pure passion and love for the craft alone. We need to get honest with ourselves and make some strategic and potentially radical moves to help improve the financial environment so we can keep the best people in our profession. I’m also hopeful that the right people are starting to get connected with each other, largely via e-mail, to develop solutions.

Poynter.org: What is your mission in your new role at Corbis?

Storm: My goal has always been to do what I can to improve photojournalism.

I have much to learn in my new role and am anxious to get started. I need to meet with the photographers and clients to understand their issues and take action to create solutions. I need to get to know those who make things happen at Corbis and build strong relationships with those key players to execute the vision. I need to understand Corbis’ global business with domestic offices in Seattle, New York Los Angeles and Chicago and international offices in Paris, London, Düsseldorf, Kuala Lumpur, Vienna, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

At Corbis I hope to create an environment that’s fun to work in, that handles the business side of photography fairly and empowers photographers to focus on their creative pursuits. That’s the trick really… utilize the people power, the business infrastructure, the mass distribution and technology capabilities of the corporation and the nimbleness, creativity and passion of the photojournalist to create a mutually beneficially relationship. I’d say making this happen, serving both the integrity of the profession and the responsibilities of the business, is my top goal.

I want to create a home for the best photographers in the world AND create a scenario where they make a good living practicing their craft. I want to work with people who believe their efforts are part of something that’s worth hustling to create.

Poynter.org: What motivated the decision to move on and why now?

Storm: It’s obviously very difficult to leave MSNBC because it has been such a successful product and the people I work with are super-smart, passionate journalists. We invented entirely new ways of storytelling and created a culture that merges journalism and technology in extraordinary ways. It was an incredibly fulfilling experience, but I’ve been here for seven years now and in many ways I’ve accomplished my goals in this space. It’s time to push myself to grow in new areas.

The opportunity at Corbis to affect the profession in a positive manner is the next big challenge. Corbis has made some mistakes in the past, but I believe they are positioned to make huge strides forward and become an agency that photographers aspire to work with and that publications benefit from on a daily basis. Corbis has such amazing potential with the assets they have acquired and I’m eager to help lead the organization into the next era.

Poynter.org: What is Corbis and whom does it serve?

Storm: Corbis is headquartered in Seattle and is one of the world’s leading providers of digital media assets including photography, fine art, footage, cartoons, and sound. Corbis combines advanced online technology and relationships with award-winning photographers and other artists to provide digital access to collections of contemporary, historical, rights managed and royalty free media.

Poynter.org: Can you offer some insight into what you will be doing in this new role?

Storm: I’ll be working with photographers and the Corbis team to develop a global strategy for current news and feature photography as well as celebrity portraiture for clients all over the world. Our goal is to create the next generation agency with a focus on in-depth storytelling, innovative production processes and mutually beneficial relationships with both clients and photographers. We’ll also be focused on developing new markets for digital media distribution as Corbis has done with in-home digital art and wireless telephones.

Poynter.org: What is the first thing that you will do upon arrival in New York?

Storm: The first thing I’ll do is pay the cab driver $50 for the ride!

Seriously, I’m incredibly excited to be moving to Manhattan and anxious to work with a new group of people at Corbis. My friends have told me over the years that I need to get to New York City and play ball in the big leagues of the media universe, so I felt it was time to step up to the plate.

I’ve been to NYC dozens of times over the past few years to work with my team at the MSNBC TV operation so I have a pretty good feel for the place. It’s an awesome city and the center of the domestic photography community so I’m excited to work and live in that world.