As they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. I suppose if there is a teachable moment here, that would be that photographers, like everyone else these days need to be learning new skills especially with the advent of digital photography and all kinds of plug-ins in photoshop to easily create effects.

There is no point in constantly looking over your shoulder and lamenting about the loss of business with the hordes of photographers offering their services on Craigs List for very little money.

I think that even Reuters, AP and Getty are struggling as well. Since many amateurs are more than happy to upload their images to news sites as citizen journalist in exchange for being seen there, the picture agencies are also affected.

People like what we do, and they quickly get envious (for exactly the reasons you mentioned). What they all tend to forget is that "photography as a business" is not going anywhere soon (well, except downhill). With newspapers and magazines facing serious problems, with the advances in digital photography, and with further improvements of transmission speeds on the Internet, I honestly do not see a market that supports commercial photography like it used to.

Sure, there WILL be a few commercial photographers around in the future, but not even remotely as many as there used to be. (Those who work for agencies like Reuters, AP, or Getty will have an advantage.)

We -as photographers- will simply have to move on, maybe go into teaching the crowds what a good photo is, and how it can be taken? Maybe looking into fine-art prints?

"Pet Photography"-http://tinyurl.com/n5lrcp
"Teaching Kids"-http://tinyurl.com/lv9luy

Donald,
Thanks for leaving your comment and reading. I don't think things are as bleak as they seem for PJs.

PJs probably need to update their storytelling skills with video and other web publishing skills.

If mainstream media indiscriminately uses "citizen journalists," it will have a problem with credibility.

Wanda,
Thanks for reading and also sharing. I am hopeful things will sort themselves out in time.

I wonder where all the PJ's are going to go, but I also know that the people still crave news / information / images that tell a story. I think that one door (newsprint) may close at some point, but a new one that may not as yet be imagined, will open.

I just want us all to be ready.

I invite you to view what you can do for your soul when you're not worried about your wallet;

"In Spite Of!" - http://tinyurl.com/de232r

"Malki's Legacy" - http://tinyurl.com/dx862w

and currently working on
http://TIPUSIM.com in Jerusalem

The rewards of shooting for yourself and for others are overwhelming!