Naperville Sun, Chicago Sun-Times Lays Off Entire Photography Staff

The Chicago Sun-Times has cut its entire photography staff, including photographers at its suburban publication, the Naperville Sun, Crain's Chicago Business reports.

More than 20 full-time, part-time and freelance employees were laid off Thursday morning and the Sun-Times plans on using only freelance photographers going forward, Chicago Tribune reports. 

Along with Naperville Sun photographers, the decision also affects photographers at all of its other suburban publications. 

According to Crain's, the Chicago Sun-Times issued the following statement regarding the layoffs:

"The Sun-Times business is changing rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and are focused on bolstering our reporting capabilities with video and other multimedia elements. The Chicago Sun-Times continues to evolve with our digitally savvy customers, and as a result, we have had to restructure the way we manage multimedia, including photography, across the network."

In December, the Sun-Times announced a massive overhaul to close suburban newspaper offices in an effort to consolidate operations to its newsroom in downtown Chicago. 

Read more on Crain's Chicago Business and Chicago Tribune