Magnum Photos Launch New Website

As it approaches its 70^th anniversary year in 2017, a new operating model sees Magnum Photos become a self-commissioning, self-publishing media platform.
The new website “marks a significant investment in its digital future,” the photography agency said in a statement.
David Kogan, CEO of Magnum Photos says of the launch: “Images have become central to our culture and communication. However, in an increasingly digital world, photographic quality is harder than ever to identify, understand and learn from excellence.
“When it comes to documentation, Magnum has always specialised not in the ‘what happened’ but the ‘why it happened’- our new approach allows us to open up this dialogue and create a more sustainable model for the agency and our photographers.

“As we approach our anniversary, we want to inspire future generations of storytellers to recognise, take and own great photography by showcasing excellence and bringing them closer to the photographic craft.”
The site hopes to encourage audiences to connect more deeply with the work of Magnum’s photographers, exploring photography and visual culture through three content strands:
Newsroom:  
Current affairs stories, such as Carl De Keyzer’s investigative journalism piece in Ghana, Jonas Bendiksen’s exploration of Svalbard’s seed vaults and Carolyn Drake’s look at Puerto Rico’s relationship with its American parent.
Arts and Culture:
How photography intersects with the arts, such as the re-surfacing of Chris Steele-Perkins’ work on subculture ‘The Teds’, and Martin Parr’s contemporary portrait of the English social season, as well as Thomas Dworzak’s look at social phenomena Pokémon Go!

Theory and Practice:
An informative strand exploring the role of photography and what lies behind the images, such as a guide through the ethics and considerations of documenting the migrant crisis and an insight into the working practices of Magnum Photographers through the use of contact sheets.
Magnum Photos intends to maintain its key relationships with international media, but now compliments this with self-initiated projects producing in-depth visual explorations of the migration crisis, Europe post Brexit and a snapshot of the USA in the run up to the presidential election; stories which will be published on the site between now and December.
Building on its audience of over 3.3 million social media users, from today the site launches new features including Education and Print Sale content hubs.
See more here: magnumphotos.com.