Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, news photographers have been subject to police intimidation and arrest, as if photography is a crime. But federal law protects photography and photographers, as Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel to the National Press P
Dmitry Kozak, Russia’s Olympian deputy prime minister warned a Wall Street Journal reporter that he would release hidden-camera footage of journalists in their hotel bathrooms if they continu…
via Boing Boing: http://boingboing.net/2014/02/07/russian-olympic-official-to-re.html
Dmitry Kozak, Russia’s Olympian deputy prime minister warned a Wall Street Journal reporter that he would release hidden-camera footage of journalists in their hotel bathrooms if they continued to complain about the substandard hotels in Sochi.
James Nachtwey continued working after being shot
via Time: http://world.time.com/2014/02/01/american-photojournalist-shot-in-thai-violence/
was not badly injured and was working again soon after being wounded
Call it insult to injury as the White House press secretary takes over the official Instagram site the day before the State of the Union address.
via Reading The Pictures: http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/2014/01/white-house-photo-access-carney-plays-souza-shoots-press/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Bagnewsnotes+%28BAGnewsNotes%29
In the shadow of the media boycott of White House–generated imagery, the White House seems determined to see how many different ways it can mock the press for seeking more access
Link: Dozens of journalists injured in Kiev during protests, five people killed | Poynter.
Another journalist providing live video of the conflict for Espreso TV was assaulted and kidnapped on Jan. 22 before being released. More than two dozen journalists have been assaulted, mostly by police, while covering the events.
Link: Tales of photo propaganda | Thoughts of a Bohemian
Dutch newspaper The Volkskrant (circ 250k) published a full page spread placing side to side images from North Korean leader Kim Jung Un and President Obama – in both cases, using government produced visuals
Link: FAA says drone photojournalism illegal…for now | dvafoto
The use of drones in journalism (and everything else) will only increase. The Reuters Institute released a report in June 2013 on just this subject (pdf of report). In the report, they argue that newspapers, magazines, and broadcasters, will turn to drones because they vastly simplify and cheapen the process of collecting aerial photography.
Link: FAA on drone recordings by journalists: ‘There is no gray area’ | Poynter.
Hobbyists are allowed to use small, radio-controlled crafts under specific guidelines, but “if you’re using it for any sort of commercial purposes, including journalism, that’s not allowed,” he added.
Link: Photographer says Spokesman-Review’s drone-shot video occurred in a ‘gray area’ | Poynter.
“The fact that there might be some FAA concerns has certainly gotten our attention,” Graham said, adding that “there wasn’t much discussion ahead of time” about the camera ship recordings.
Link: Foto-Grafo | Italy, Street-Photography and the Law
The clash between the right to take pictures in public places, on the one hand, and, on the other, the (often mistaken) right to ownership of the personal image together with the (even more mistaken) right to “privacy” is not peculiar to Italy, but Italian law does have certain peculiarities of which a casual street photographer should be aware when traveling around this country. But please – reader – take into account that what follows is a general account, and as such it may need to be adapted to the specific circumstances related to the time, space and place of the photography in question.
A federal judge today upheld a President Barack Obama administration policy allowing U.S. officials along the U.S. border to seize and search laptops, smartphones and other electronic devices for any reason.
via WIRED: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/12/gadget-border-searches-2/
Alarmingly, the government contends the Fourth-Amendment-Free Zone stretches 100 miles inland from the nation’s actual border.
The judge said it “would be foolish, if not irresponsible” to store sensitive information on electronic devices while traveling internationally.
In September 2010 the National Press Photographers Association joined an important federal lawsuit in a Constitutional challenge of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s laptop search policy at the border. On Friday a U.S. District Judge dismissed th
via NPPA: https://nppa.org/news/ny-judge-throws-out-photographers-border-search-constitutional-challenge
On Friday U.S. District Judge Edward Korman dismissed the suit after it sat in his court for nearly two years. By doing so Korman affirms that he believes the government should be able to search and copy people’s laptops, cell phones, and other devices at border checkpoints without reasonable suspicion.
The current antagonism between photographers and the White House needs to be broadened beyond the simple question of access. It is time to look at the bigger picture, and make the photo-op as much the subject, so we have a visual record of how events and
via Reading The Pictures: http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/2013/12/photo-ops-and-staging-beyond-white-house-access-the-larger-issue-is-what-we-have-access-to/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Bagnewsnotes+%28BAGnewsNotes%29
Media representatives and White House officials have started a series of meetings to discuss photographers’ access to the President. But it is unlikely that the bigger issue was on the table – access to what? If media organizations want to give us open journalism that pulls back the curtain on the theatre of politics, they have to use this moment to question the centrality of the photo op in the presentation of politics.
NPPA’s general counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher, along with additional representatives from a media coalition who are protesting the lack of photographers’ access to President Barack Obama, today met with the Administration’s press secretary Jay Carney and
via NPPA: https://nppa.org/news/media-coalition-meets-white-house-press-office-over-obama-access
“After today’s meeting we remain cautiously optimistic that the White House will follow through on its earlier commitment to transparency,” Osterreicher said afterwards. “The real work will come in the weeks ahead as we continue to work with the White House on improving the presumption of openness when it comes to press access.”
via Correspondent: http://blogs.afp.com/correspondent/?post/Mandela-s-forbidden-funeral
Well before the death of Nelson Mandela, it was clear his funeral could turn out to be a bit of a nightmare for journalists. One: It was of course going to be a tremendously emotional event, followed closely by people the world over. Two: The burial itself would take place in the middle of the countryside and bring a whole range of logistical issues for journalists. Three: Pretty much the whole world’s press would descend – and ruthless competitiveness would be the norm. And finally, local authorities were set to make it difficult for us to do our jobs.
In an exchange yesterday with reporters over why press pool photographers were kept away from President Barack Obama on his trip to Nelson Mandela’s funeral last week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney ducked, dodged–and said times have changed. “Thi
via PDNPulse: http://pdnpulse.pdnonline.com/2013/12/white-house-press-secretary-to-photographers-we-respect-you-but-we-dont-need-you.html
“This is part of a bigger transformation that’s happening out there that’s driven by the ability of everyone to post anything on the Internet free of charge so that you don’t have to buy that newspaper or subscribe to that wire service to see that photograph.”
In other words, the White House doesn’t need press photographers anymore, and neither does the public, now that the White House can distribute its own pictures of the president online.
This is the portion of the White House Briefing of Thursday December 12, 2013, where White House press secretary Jay Carney answered reporters’ questions about the lack of access to President Obama by photographers:
via NPPA: https://nppa.org/node/64541
This is the portion of the White House Briefing of Thursday December 12, 2013, where White House press secretary Jay Carney answered reporters’ questions about the lack of access to President Obama by photographers:
The White House has systematically tried to bypass the media by releasing a sanitized visual record of Mr. Obama’s activities, denying photojournalists access.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/opinion/obamas-orwellian-image-control.html?ref=opinion&_r=2
Manifestly undemocratic, in contrast, is the way Mr. Obama’s administration — in hypocritical defiance of the principles of openness and transparency he campaigned on — has systematically tried to bypass the media by releasing a sanitized visual record of his activities through official photographs and videos, at the expense of independent journalistic access.
Link: PoynterVision: White House photo practices break promise of open government | Poynter.
Kenny Irby argues White House chief photographer Pete Souza‘s role is more that of a “propagandist” than a photojournalist since his job is to make the president “look good, make the president look presidential.”
Freelance photographer Ricardo Garcia Vilanova and reporter Javier Espinosa of El Mundo were abducted in Syria on September 16, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The families of the journalists made the news of their capture public today.
via PDNPulse: http://pdnpulse.pdnonline.com/2013/12/spanish-photographer-and-reporter-abducted-by-al-qaeda-affliliate-in-syria.html
Freelance photographer Ricardo Garcia Vilanova and reporter Javier Espinosa of El Mundo were abducted in Syria on September 16