Former BBC news executive Stephen Claypole has moved to New York to become the chief executive of the international photo agency World Picture Network.
World Picture Network was established as World Picture News in London three years ago by Irish photographers Seamus Conlan and Tara Farrell. It opened an editorial and sales centre in New York in June.
“WpN is a kind of digital commodity market for news photographs and thematic images,” said Claypole. “Our objectives are to provide greater editorial and financial opportunities for the world’s freelance photographers and to encourage creativity and editorial enterprise in the teeth of encroaching big business monopolists.”
Thirty jobs are being created at the new operational headquarters in New York and 650 freelance photographers have registered to offer their pictures and archives on the digital exchange.
Claypole, 59, is a former head of newsgathering at BBC News and managing director of Associated Press Television News. For the past five years, he has been chairman of international media consultancy DMA-Media. He will continue as non-executive chairman while heading WpN’s New York operations.
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