This may not be a first - but HoldTheFrontPage is reporting that the Manchester Evening News has ditched its picture desk.
It says that both the picture editor and his deputy have not been replaced after leaving the Trinity Mirror title. Photographers are now assigned to jobs by the newsdesk.
Comment: Before everyone throws up their arms in despair, it is a rational development as publishers seek ways of reducing head counts.
Commercial reasoning aside, it also reflects the changes wrought by the digital revolution. The picture desk function has become increasingly less relevant.
The situation is somewhat different on national titles, but I would expect the wind of change to blow even those picture desks away not too far into the future.
