Since they are not employees, but freelancers, photographers often operate from a disadvantaged position. No one else will be. Smooth the way for the photographer. Make certain that the proper research has been done before an assignment and that there is actually something to photograph. Often, something that sounds intelligent doesn't look good in photographs.
Intelligent thoughts are often better in the mind's eye than in the camera.
Other editors, with the story's text in hand, may judge photographs by what they have read. Don't join them. The reader sees before he ever reads and may never read if there's nothing interesting to see. A good subject for one photographer may not be good for another. Some photographers create a graphic and dramatic structure of a scene and then record it.