So please, all these smart people pontificating, making conceptual scoops and publishing opinions on our industry, show me how you would crowdsource the typical 300+ pictures that run in our newspaper every week and the thousands of man hours that it takes to pull it all off, seamlessly, until it falls on your doorstep or refreshes your home page with just a whisper.

I would be fascinated to know how an app would automate the logistics involved in shooting pictures of individuals, groups, buildings, places, events, food, sports, products, news that make up our weekly report. Images that you have to pay people to produce ahead of time, not on spec, to assure they'll actually get taken.

They're not just show-up-and-snap pictures either. Many of our pictures go beyond simple representations of their subjects to emphasize through judgment, experience and composition what it is about them that makes them newsworthy and storytelling. That includes the use of artificial light - the kind you mount on the end of a light stand on location or in our photo studio. Everything about the images is purposeful, carefully concealing the organized chaos it took to make them happen.

You might notice that not every picture is of a sensational plane crash or shooting in a public place - where people whip out a smartphone and post to Facebook. You know the news I'm talking about, the moments that spur the "citizen journalism" conversations. Many of the above images might get passed over during those times.

But that photo you just missed while turning the page? Someone else is dwelling on it, clipping it or passing it around to their neighbors and friends. A politician might shake it in a reporter's face in frustration.

To many, they're unglamorous (unless you're in the photo). 99.999% of our images won't win a Pulitzer or start a bidding war. But professionally produced images, however unglamorous to the masses, will draw in readers on a reliable basis, according to every scientific eye-tracking study I've ever seen.

I'm not trying to be a smart aleck here (ok, maybe just a little), but I think my editor and photographer colleagues are all tired of media commentators, many of who are woefully ignorant about the actual process of photojournalism, contributing to the drumbeat of death for our profession. That can make a person a little touchy.

I used to work in Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill where the mantra was, if you heard something repeated three times, it became true. Perhaps that's why I am disturbed by this false narrative. It can poison the well of truth and cause poor decision-making. I'm seeing it happen now. Nevermind the facts. They died awhile ago. We even ran an obituary on them.

I have no problem with change. I love it. Like the thousands of photojournalists who don't get full credit for what they do, I've embraced it also. I'm photographing, blogging, shooting video, and expanding my social media footprint. I'll have an ebook published soon from my work here. I even designed the book by learning InDesign. You'll hear all about it when it gets published (get ready).

I'm happy too when people make pictures with their smartphones and disseminate them. Great! We can't be everywhere. This will only help our populace understand and relate to their community even more. I'm all for it. Instagram doesn't threaten photojournalism. It adds to it.

I'm also all for innovation and entrepreneurship. I'm a creative and I problem solve on a daily basis. I understand the impetuses at work and applaud innovators. Who could be against that when we need great ideas to renew our industry?

But the idea that a few anecdotal triumphs of smartphones would spell the end of the need for photojournalists is preposterous. The facts, of which are plainly seen above, appear to elude not just punditry, but many businessmen who act on the 40-70% amount of information they feel is sufficient to make a decision affecting staffing levels. Shake head and roll eyes.

It is so easy to take for granted what photojournalists do - to take for granted the high level of professionalism, craftsmanship, journalism, artistry and dedication to communicate a visual narrative.

It's also easy to take for granted the sheer volume of pictures that we produce on a regular basis. In fact, when I talk about people who leave the profession, the one thing they often say is how slow the rest of the business world moves compared to a newsroom. Or as one friend, a former journalist, once told me excitedly, "I get to meet friends for cocktails. I get to have a life!"

So there you have it. 300+ pictures. Week in, week out. 24/7/365. Holidays included.

Crowdsource it, ASAP.

Your deadline is in a few hours.