Well "Adventures of Superman" went too far the other way, occasionally not having Lois in an episode at all, and almost replacing her with Jimmy.
On some of my thoughts above, when Lois first sees Clark, it is while the Pultizer-prize winner is taking photos of the unidentified ice-encased object (UIO). Lois takes pictures, thus she does not need a photographer.
OK, to be fair, just because she can take her own pictures when going on a long distance exploration to the far north, does not mean she would not need a photographer if she is covering a fast paced fire in the center of Metropolis or some other event where getting pictures is time sensitive. The UIO is not going to move on her, so the issues are different.
