Linkfest: Photographers’ rights, in preparation for the Democratic National Convention

A photographer aims at his subject, taken by James Willamor.

Here’s a linkfest for people looking for information about photographers’ and videographers’ rights, compiled by James Willamor, to help visual journalists planning to cover the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. The list also includes links to some stories about photographers being arrested while covering Occupy protests elsewhere.

The big photojournalist organizations

SPJ – Society of Professional Journalists – Photojournalism toolbox (maybe the best source of links)
ASMP – American Society of Media Photographers (deals more with
copyright issues)
PPA – Professional Photographers of America (copyright issues)
NPPA – National Press Photographers Association (1st Amendment issues)
NPAA advocacy blog
NPAA code of ethics
NPAA guide to business practices

List of photography rights/ethics links

ACLU list of photography rights
ACLU – You Have Every Right to Photograph That Cop
Bert P. Krages, attorney The Photographer’s Right (a simple
handout popular for its succinctness)
First Amendment Center – Photography and the First Amendment
Time Lightbox – Fight for Your Right: Resources for Photographers Covering Protests
Photojournalism, An Ethical Approach by Paul Martin Lester (at Fullerton University)
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press – Photographers guide to
privacy
Pixiq – Rights and Respect in photography

Other

Carlos Miller – Photography is Not a Crime (reports on photographers’ rights news/cases)

Photographers being arrested covering Occupy protests

Vanity Fair – An Oral History of a Vanity Fair Photographer’s Arrest
at Occupy Wall Street
Washington Post – Photojournalist arrested at Occupy D.C.(links to
other arrest stories)
Poynter – Three-time Wisconsin “Photographer of the Year” arrested during Occupy rally

Meeting notes: access, credentials, conflict resolution and student journalists during the Democratic National Convention

Barack Obama campaigns in uptown Charlotte on Sept. 21, 2008, after the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Image by James Willamor.

Here is a summary of a meeting that Frank Barrows, Grant Baldwin, Susan Stabley and Stuart Watson had with Kristie Greco, communications director of the Democratic National Convention Committee, on April 30. Grant Baldwin,a freelance Charlotte photographer, took the notes for Charlotte Society of Professional Journalists.

Access

Uptown will be “open for business.” Any specifics on the established perimeter defining areas that are public and areas that will require one or tiers of credentialing by the DNC will be outlined in the upcoming Transportation And Security Plan. There is no set date as to when that plan will be made available. It is still being formulated.
It is the DNC’s goal to have a minimal impact on the daily life uptown
however, the execution of that lies in the hands of CMPD and the Secret Service.

Conflict resolution

Resources for resolving conflicts concerning access during the DNC include Kim McMillan, head of public relations for the DNC; she was named specifically as a point of contact for access related issues during the DNC along with Kristie Greco herself.
Aside from printed materials that will be available at a later date, the communications office and media logistics office are resources as well.
There will be press information booths set up that can also assist at each facility.
We suggested establishing a hotline number that journalists could call for quick resolution of conflicts that arose around access issues; Greco was noncommittal about that idea.

The next walkthrough

The June 5 spring media logistics walkthrough will also provide more information concerning access issues as well as be more in depth than the winter walkthrough as more details will have been fleshed out since the winter walkthrough. Greco cited that the pamphlets given out then will be the best place to look for whom to go to to sort out access issues that arise.

Credentialing

Greco also noted news organizations should be managing credentials and that the individuals doing so in those organizations would be a frontline from which to seek help.

Student SPJ involvement

Greco requested that a list of student SPJ members that had applied for credentials be sent to her. She seemed to imply that if SPJ set up programs for students to interface with the DNC that she would look into helping those programs.

More on credentialing

There will be multiple levels of credentialing. Some are not fleshed out and even when they have been the information outlining all types of credentials and their associated parameters may not be made publicly available for security reasons.

Barack Obama campaigns in uptown Charlotte on Sept. 21, 2008, after the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Image by James Willamor.

Getting local names, places and things right

National website gets local news organization's name wrong.

This isn’t the first time national media confused the names of the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News and Observer. It won’t be the last.

How can Charlotte SPJ make this better? Would you pay for a local style book to avoid these gaffes? In what form?

Catawba College’s Dr. Michael Bitzer talks politics

By Michael J. Solender

Members of the Charlotte chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists were treated to a lively discussion April 5 at their monthly meeting in Dilworth. The guest speaker was Dr. Michael Bitzer, chair of the Department of History and Politics and associate professor at Catawba College. Bitzer is an avid blogger, weighing in through The Party Line at WFAE’s website, and Twitter user at @catawbapolitics for N.C. politics, and he shared some of his most recent research.

Stating his fascination with campaigns, elections and the polarization that comes from partisan politics, Bitzer has set out to learn from and predict voting behavior and gain a better understanding of where the Grand Canyon-like divide in our local, state and national politics is coming from.

Bitzer brought with him a colorful district map of Mecklenburg County precincts based on the PVI, or Partisan Voting Index, to illustrate just how polarized the Democratic and Republican voting bases are in Mecklenburg County (site of the Democratic National Convention in early September, in case you’ve been living under a rock). Bitzer used data from the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections and compared precinct results to national averages to determine the likelihood of voting one way or another. His chart shows strong party loyalty in an overwhelming majority of precincts, which is likely predictive of strong partisan voting results.

What does it all mean? Mecklenburg County has few swing voters, and a great many voters have already made up their minds about the 2012 presidential race. Of the 243 districts, only 13 were identified as tossups in Bitzer’s data.

The quick review of this information led to Bitzer sharing his analysis of what he sees as a sorting process going on across the country. He cited two books that explore this political, social and economic sort in more depth: The Big Sort by Bill Bishop, and Patchwork Nation by James G. Gimpel and Jason E. Schuknecht.

Bitzer spoke about a lessening of split-party voting and shared that those who identify themselves as either Republicans or Democrats have a 90 percent likelihood of voting their ticket in national elections.

(Yes, the state and nation are seeing an increase in those who register unaffiliated, with the electorate essentially divided in thirds, Bitzer noted, but that grouping in thirds has been apparent for years. What that means for groups like Americans Elect remains to be seen, he said. Bitzer expressed doubts that the group could serve as anything beyond a spoiler in 2012. For voter registration details, see the Carolina Transparency voter charts.)

He predicted a tough go for the presumptive Republic nominee for president, Mitt Romney, in November’s election as he sees an inability to connect with those unaffiliated voters, who are increasingly becoming the coveted “middle” choice wooed by polarized main parties. Three months ago, Romney had a 10-point lead in polls over Obama with independent voters; today, the president has the same margin over Romney among that group, Bitzer said.

Those in attendance were quite interested in the role Hispanics, women and minorities would play in upcoming elections, and Bitzer was quick to share that he saw these groups carrying increasing weight, particularly in battleground states such as Florida, Ohio and Texas. Long term, it is in Texas, where Bitzer sees an increasing vulnerability for Republics as an entire generation of Hispanics is being won over by Democrats.

The state of the society: SPJ President John Ensslin speaks in Charlottte

John Ensslin, national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, spoke on the state of the society during a visit to Charlotte on Jan. 27. The organization’s national board held its winter meeting in Charlotte.

Ensslin’s speech emphasizes the strengths of the society: continuity, ethics, Quill magazine and support tools for individual journalists facing challenges while doing their jobs.

Ensslin and SPJ have been champions for journalists arrested while covering Occupy Wall Street protests. Ensslin has written thoughtful editorials and promises future support, and the society’s Legal Defense Fund provides legal assistance to individual journalists.

Ensslin, who was in Denver during the Democratic National Convention of 2008, also spoke to the challenges and fun ahead for the Charlotte chapter as the convention comes to Charlotte in September.

(Video from Rhiannon Bowman, text here from Andria Krewson.)

A letter to Steve Kerrigan

The Charlotte chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists sent the following letter to Steve Kerrigan, CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee, on Jan. 24, 2011:

Stephen Kerrigan
400 South Tryon Street
Suite 500
Charlotte, NC 28202

Dear Mr. Kerrigan,

The Greater Charlotte Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is concerned about the off-the-record portion of the media tour January 17 of venues for the Democratic National Convention.

Media representatives were told the restriction is standard procedure, and several were approached directly and asked to stop posting information to Twitter. One journalist who asked questions about the restriction was told he could leave if he didn’t accept the restriction.

While we understand the concerns for security and the preliminary nature of the logistical information, journalism and in fact our society are based on relationships of mutual trust and respect. Logistical emails, notices and parts of tours that require off-the-record restrictions violate that trust, treating journalists as passive recipients and not as partners in providing information in a civic society.

Further, research shows that the 2008 convention in Denver either had no such restrictions on the press or those restrictions were routinely violated without consequence. The actions by current DNCC communications professionals have resulted in online headlines such as, “Reporter blows the lid off DNC secret media meeting.” DNCC members have said they want an open and inclusive convention; restrictions that legitimately prompt adjectives like “secret” work directly against your purposes.

In addition, a DNCC communications professional implied in a conversation with one Charlotte media representative that journalists “in smaller markets” don’t fully understand the nature of large events or the importance of “off the record” information. That disparaging comment about Charlotte journalists is off base. The communications professional was talking with a journalist with many years in the New York media market. Further, one of the strongest voices pushing against the off-the-record tour restriction has served as an embedded journalist in Iraq.

The dust-up also prompted the headline, “Some Charlotte media not ready for the convention stage,” at one national blog as well. It’s not our role to compare credentials of journalists and DNCC communications professionals, but Charlotte has seasoned, professional journalists who deserve respect and mutual trust from the DNCC. We’d like to find ways to further positive relationships.

The Greater Charlotte Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists urges the DNCC to keep communication channels with local reporters as open and respectful as possible, and our chapter is inviting you attend one of our twice-a-month meeting for a discussion about such terms as “off the record” and other aspects of the approaching convention.

Thank you for your time, and we look forward to seeing you at one of our meetings.

Our president, Frank Barrows, will be glad to work with you to confirm a date.

Sincerely,

Greater Charlotte Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists

Contact: Frank Barrows, 704 576-3485, fcbarrows@aol.com.

Charlotte’s impending media circus: Insight from Iowa

Journalists work in the Google media filing center in Des Moines, Iowa. Photo by Kelsey Kremer, Iowa State Daily.

By Andria Krewson

At the Iowa caucuses, the Des Moines visitors’ bureau set up a media center that included television backdrops, wi-fi, snacks, coffee and Google goodies.

Workstations cost $400 each for established media organizations and $200 each for blogging stations, according to Erika Fry at Columbia Journalism Review. Not all traditional media or bloggers plunked down the money, Fry wrote, and political parties provided other media access points.

Watching the political hot spots can help Charlotte media folk know what to expect during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in September 2012. The S.C. primary still lies ahead, but plans are starting to gel in Charlotte, and the PPL group has been working on access to free space for media, especially independent media. Charlotte’s expecting up to 15,000 journalists for the convention.

DNC organizers are making their pitches for institutional sponsorships in Washington, D.C., now.

The details from Politico:

The top fundraising package is appropriately named “Presidential” for those who raise $1 million. In return, the convention promises a premier uptown hotel room, platinum credential package, platinum events package, concierge services and priority access for rental facilities. It also earns the fundraiser two tickets for the “First in Flight Series,” a number of pre-convention events based in North Carolina with elected officials, political vets and others and four VIP tickets to the “Dialogue Series.”

The first media walk-through of the convention site in Charlotte is Jan. 18.

For a deeper sense of the Iowa scene, take a look at the Google Media Center in Des Moines, through the eyes of Business Insider, Iowa State Daily and Google. See and hear the media circus in a video from Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times.

Democratic National Convention: Lessons from Denver

WCNC news producer Carrie Hofmann talked with the Charlotte chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists about her work in Denver during the Democratic National Convention in 2008.

As you probably know by now, Charlotte will host the 2012 convention.

Hofmann told SPJ members and friends gathered at Sir Ed’s Pub on Dec. 1 to be prepared for 12-hour days, logistical challenges and lots of excitement. Check out a collection of tweets about her talk at Storify.

(Cross posted at Digital Words, a blog for a class in UNC’s digital master’s program.)

Use caution, Charlotte SPJ urges police

The Greater Charlotte Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is urging police and city administrators in North Carolina to use care and discretion as they respond to protest demonstrations that media reporters are covering.

According to the Associated Press, at least six credentialed journalists have been arrested or detained recently while covering protests in Chapel Hill and New York. Reporters have also been arrested in Atlanta, Nashville, Milwaukee and Richmond, Va.

“Unrest in our country is spurring protests, and it will continue to do so,” said Frank Barrows, the Charlotte chapter president and former managing editor of the Charlotte Observer. “The Democratic National Convention next year in Charlotte is apt to have many demonstrations accompanying it. So, especially now, it is critical that police throughout North Carolina develop the capacity to perceive — particularly in heated moments — the difference between protesters, who can sometimes be unruly and occasionally even break laws, and journalists legitimately on the scene to cover the news as a function of democracy.”

SPJ, a century-old national organization with more than 9,000 members, has called for all charges against the journalists recently arrested to be dropped. In those instances, the journalists were either wearing press credentials or explained to police that they were reporters covering the protests. They were clearly exercising the constitutional right of a free press.

“We know that as protests escalate it may be difficult for police to distinguish bystanders from participants, but it is clear now that many journalists have been erroneously arrested without cause,” SPJ national president John Ensslin said. “These errors must be rectified immediately.”

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.

For more information on the Greater Charlotte Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, contact Barrows.

Getting ready for the Democratic National Convention in 2012: stories of past conventions from Jim Morrill

Tremone Jackson, a student at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, interviews veteran political reporter Jim Morrill about politics and conventions.

Charlotte will host the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in 2012. Jim has covered five national political conventions in his 30 years at The Charlotte Observer.

(Interviewed in early April.)