The Dayton Daily News’s photo editor, a two-time Pulitzer winner, was told he needed to cut two to four positions, or half his photography staff.

So Larry Price resigned instead, the Dayton Business Journal says.

“I do not believe the layoffs are fair to you as individuals or that they are in the best interest of the Dayton Daily news and our readers. If these cuts are enacted, it will be impossible to meet the Cox initiatives for covering breaking news, sharing content with our media partners and growing our online presence,” he said in a letter to his staff.

This might have been a long time coming, anyway. In a separate Dayton Business Journal article Price explained to reporter Ginger Christ how he felt his employer’s approach to photography change over the years:

Price saw the DDN’s approach to photography continue to change; photographs became less of a focus and graphics were used in their place whenever possible.
The seminal moment for him occurred earlier this year after he had to defend a photograph of a girl with tears in her eyes at a candlelight vigil in west Dayton. The photo, he was told, was too emotional.
“The new prerogative, as it was explained to me, was to dumb down the photo report, to pull back and show crowd photographs,” Price said.
At that point, Price said he realized there was a mandate to stop producing sophisticated visual content.

What now?

“I’m going to take pictures. I’m going to take fine photographs. I’m in a position, I’m not in mid-career, I’m not trying to start out. I’m luckier than some,” Price told Christ.