http://jpgmag.com/photonews JPG Photography News Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:06:00 PST Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:06:00 PST http://jpgmag.com/ http://jpgmag.com/images/JPG-logo-red.gif http://jpgmag.com/about http://jpgmag.com/photonews http://jpgmag.com/photonews/display/2133 A picture of former Chicago Sun-TImes photojournalist John H. White, at center, hangs at the Billy Goat Tavern, a long-time gathering place for Chicago journalists. The bad management sinking the Sun-Times was on full display today. And I’m not just talking about laying off probably 500+ years of cumulative experience with a 30 second announcement in a sterile hotel conference room with nary a whiff of gratitude for years of service. It’s about thinking you could deliver a product people would want by gutting the visual professionals from your news organization. Some people think this was a union-busting move. You fire all the photographers, most of them unionized, by saying you are switching their duties to others. Essentially, you’re “eliminating their positions”. Then, months from... Fri, 31 May 2013 07:21:13 PST A picture of former Chicago Sun-TImes photojournalist John H. White, at center, hangs at the Billy Goat Tavern, a long-time gathering place for Chicago journalists. The bad management sinking the Sun-Times was on full display today. And I’m not just talking about laying off probably 500+ years of cumulative experience with a 30 second announcement in a sterile hotel conference room with nary a whiff of gratitude for years of service. It’s about thinking you could deliver a product people would want by gutting the visual professionals from your news organization. Some people think this was a union-busting move. You fire all the photographers, most of them unionized, by saying you are switching their duties to others. Essentially, you’re “eliminating their positions”. Then, months from... Cathaleen Curtiss http://jpgmag.com/photonews http://jpgmag.com/photonews/display/2129 A letter from NPPA to Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer. “Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gismos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn’t make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.” -Peter Adams Wed, 29 May 2013 05:33:28 PST A letter from NPPA to Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer. “Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gismos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn’t make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.” -Peter Adams Cathaleen Curtiss http://jpgmag.com/photonews http://jpgmag.com/photonews/display/2118 Yesterday, at a press conference after an “acquisition” meeting of Tumblr, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was quoted with the following statement: “There’s no such thing as Flickr Pro today because [with so many people taking photographs] there’s really no such thing as professional photographers anymore.” by Jim Colton Wed, 22 May 2013 05:58:15 PST Yesterday, at a press conference after an “acquisition” meeting of Tumblr, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was quoted with the following statement: “There’s no such thing as Flickr Pro today because [with so many people taking photographs] there’s really no such thing as professional photographers anymore.” by Jim Colton Cathaleen Curtiss http://jpgmag.com/photonews http://jpgmag.com/photonews/display/2112 Apparently, it's an official rule at American Airlines that still and video cameras cannot be used – especially to photograph personnel, customers, aircraft equipment or procedures:<br /> <br /> "The use of still and video cameras, film or digital, is permitted only for recording of personal events. Unauthorized photography or video recording of airline personnel, other customers, aircraft equipment or procedures is strictly prohibited."<br /> <br /> United Airlines recently kicked a travel blogger off an international flight for camera use. <br /> <br /> Jeff Hermes, director of the Digital Media Law Project at Harvard's Berkman Center, says the airlines are within their rights to do this. The plane is a private space, they set the rules, and if you defy them on those rules, you could be found guilty of a form of trespassing. Trespassing, because in most private spaces, you have the option of obeying the owner's rules or leaving the premises.<br /> <br /> "There's an interesting issue when you talk about airplanes," Hermes says. "Because it's very clearly a situation in which — so long as you're in the air — you can't leave. So your only option is to comply."<br /> <br /> The fact that airlines seem to enforce the rule arbitrarily — in this case, to try to head off embarrassing videos — doesn't undermine their legal position, Hermes says.<br /> <br /> Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel at the National Press Photographers Association, says he had no idea that American had such restrictions, but that professional photographers have long had to deal with seemingly arbitrary rules like this. What's changing now, he says, is that those rules are starting to affect the general public.<br /> <br /> "News these days is just as likely to come from somebody with a cellphone camera as somebody with a press credential," Osterreicher says.<br /> <br /> While private companies can restrict photography on their premises, police officers may not. They often try, ordering people to stop videotaping them and sometimes arresting camera-wielding civilians and charging them with disorderly conduct or interfering with the police. But the courts have clearly stated that the public has the right to photograph the police, a right recently reaffirmed by the Justice Department.<br /> <br /> The public's right to videotape police is being tested in a , this week. The details are still unclear, but witnesses accuse law enforcement of deleting a video of a police beating.<br /> Police may confiscate videos, if there's evidence of a crime and a warrant. But private entities, such as airlines, may not. No matter what the rules on a airplane, once you've shot a video, airline employees have no right to demand that you delete it or hand it over.<br /> <br /> And once you have that video, you enjoy much greater freedom to "publish" it, such as uploading it to YouTube.<br /> "If it's just a matter of something that's embarrassing to an airline, it's going to be hard for them to get it suppressed — to get it taken down," says Ryan Calo, a University of Washington Law professor specializing in privacy.<br /> <br /> He says the First Amendment is "pretty generous" in this regard. "Even though the press are singled out by the very text of the Constitution, most of us enjoy many of the same rights that the press do." Tue, 21 May 2013 10:33:46 PST Apparently, it's an official rule at American Airlines that still and video cameras cannot be used – especially to photograph personnel, customers, aircraft equipment or procedures:<br /> <br /> "The use of still and video cameras, film or digital, is permitted only for recording of personal events. Unauthorized photography or video recording of airline personnel, other customers, aircraft equipment or procedures is strictly prohibited."<br /> <br /> United Airlines recently kicked a travel blogger off an international flight for camera use. <br /> <br /> Jeff Hermes, director of the Digital Media Law Project at Harvard's Berkman Center, says the airlines are within their rights to do this. The plane is a private space, they set the rules, and if you defy them on those rules, you could be found guilty of a form of trespassing. Trespassing, because in most private spaces, you have the option of obeying the owner's rules or leaving the premises.<br /> <br /> "There's an interesting issue when you talk about airplanes," Hermes says. "Because it's very clearly a situation in which — so long as you're in the air — you can't leave. So your only option is to comply."<br /> <br /> The fact that airlines seem to enforce the rule arbitrarily — in this case, to try to head off embarrassing videos — doesn't undermine their legal position, Hermes says.<br /> <br /> Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel at the National Press Photographers Association, says he had no idea that American had such restrictions, but that professional photographers have long had to deal with seemingly arbitrary rules like this. What's changing now, he says, is that those rules are starting to affect the general public.<br /> <br /> "News these days is just as likely to come from somebody with a cellphone camera as somebody with a press credential," Osterreicher says.<br /> <br /> While private companies can restrict photography on their premises, police officers may not. They often try, ordering people to stop videotaping them and sometimes arresting camera-wielding civilians and charging them with disorderly conduct or interfering with the police. But the courts have clearly stated that the public has the right to photograph the police, a right recently reaffirmed by the Justice Department.<br /> <br /> The public's right to videotape police is being tested in a , this week. The details are still unclear, but witnesses accuse law enforcement of deleting a video of a police beating.<br /> Police may confiscate videos, if there's evidence of a crime and a warrant. But private entities, such as airlines, may not. No matter what the rules on a airplane, once you've shot a video, airline employees have no right to demand that you delete it or hand it over.<br /> <br /> And once you have that video, you enjoy much greater freedom to "publish" it, such as uploading it to YouTube.<br /> "If it's just a matter of something that's embarrassing to an airline, it's going to be hard for them to get it suppressed — to get it taken down," says Ryan Calo, a University of Washington Law professor specializing in privacy.<br /> <br /> He says the First Amendment is "pretty generous" in this regard. "Even though the press are singled out by the very text of the Constitution, most of us enjoy many of the same rights that the press do." Justin Case http://jpgmag.com/photonews http://jpgmag.com/photonews/display/2108 Are you ready for the imagery war -- the war against personal photography and capturing of video? You'd better be. The title of this piece actually Mon, 20 May 2013 09:13:51 PST Are you ready for the imagery war -- the war against personal photography and capturing of video? You'd better be. The title of this piece actually Cathaleen Curtiss http://jpgmag.com/photonews http://jpgmag.com/photonews/display/2107 In the past few months, photojournalists have had to make some complicated and difficult decisions regarding digital manipulation of images. While editors have been making such decisions since the dawn of photography, what editors find acceptable continues to differ widely. Mon, 20 May 2013 08:36:28 PST In the past few months, photojournalists have had to make some complicated and difficult decisions regarding digital manipulation of images. While editors have been making such decisions since the dawn of photography, what editors find acceptable continues to differ widely. Cathaleen Curtiss http://jpgmag.com/photonews http://jpgmag.com/photonews/display/2103 For those who believe that a robust public-affairs journalism is essential for a society striving to be democratic, the 21st century has been characterized by bad news that keeps getting worse. Sun, 19 May 2013 04:46:44 PST For those who believe that a robust public-affairs journalism is essential for a society striving to be democratic, the 21st century has been characterized by bad news that keeps getting worse. Cathaleen Curtiss http://jpgmag.com/photonews http://jpgmag.com/photonews/display/2102 World Press Photo has just released a statement confirming the integrity of Paul Hansen's winning photograph. Fri, 17 May 2013 15:27:32 PST World Press Photo has just released a statement confirming the integrity of Paul Hansen's winning photograph. Cathaleen Curtiss http://jpgmag.com/photonews http://jpgmag.com/photonews/display/2099 From the wonderful "Photography is Not a Crime" blog:<br /> <br /> the Baltimore Police Department is being sued for attacking a woman and smashing her camera, marking the second time in two years it has been sued for destroying footage.<br /> <br /> The first suit earned them a federal reprimand. The second will hopefully earn them a federal investigation. <br /> <br /> In that suit, which was filed last week, Makia Smith says she was stuck in stand-still rush hour traffic in March 2012 when she saw a group of cops beating up a man.<br /> <br /> She stepped out of her car, stood on the door sill and began recording.<br /> <br /> She was quickly confronted by an aggressive cop named Nathan Church, who grabbed her phone, threw it on the ground and smashed it with his foot.<br /> <br /> “You want to film something, bitch? Film this,” he yelled.<br /> <br /> He then proceeded to beat her.<br /> <br /> Quoting from the suit as filed:<br /> <br /> “Officer Church pulled plaintiff out of her car by her hair and beat her. Officers Pilkerton, Ulmer, and Campbell then ran to plaintiff’s car and joined Officer Church in beating plaintiff and arrested her using excessive force. At all times described herein, plaintiff’s two year old daughter witnessed her mother’s beating and arrest by the Officers, as did others.”
 Smith claims the cops taunted her and threatened to take her daughter away......<br /> <br /> “The officers, despite the pleas of plaintiff, refused to call plaintiff’s mother. Instead, the officers tormented plaintiff by telling her that her daughter would be taken from her and sent to Social Services. Seeing plaintiff’s distressful reaction to these tormenting threats, they continued,” the complaint states.
 Smith says claims she was arrested and taken to jail on bogus charges that she assaulted Church and resisted arrest.
 She claims Church failed to appear for her trial – twice, and prosecutors dropped the charges, but she had to hire a lawyer and spend more money recovering her impounded car. Fri, 17 May 2013 09:56:24 PST From the wonderful "Photography is Not a Crime" blog:<br /> <br /> the Baltimore Police Department is being sued for attacking a woman and smashing her camera, marking the second time in two years it has been sued for destroying footage.<br /> <br /> The first suit earned them a federal reprimand. The second will hopefully earn them a federal investigation. <br /> <br /> In that suit, which was filed last week, Makia Smith says she was stuck in stand-still rush hour traffic in March 2012 when she saw a group of cops beating up a man.<br /> <br /> She stepped out of her car, stood on the door sill and began recording.<br /> <br /> She was quickly confronted by an aggressive cop named Nathan Church, who grabbed her phone, threw it on the ground and smashed it with his foot.<br /> <br /> “You want to film something, bitch? Film this,” he yelled.<br /> <br /> He then proceeded to beat her.<br /> <br /> Quoting from the suit as filed:<br /> <br /> “Officer Church pulled plaintiff out of her car by her hair and beat her. Officers Pilkerton, Ulmer, and Campbell then ran to plaintiff’s car and joined Officer Church in beating plaintiff and arrested her using excessive force. At all times described herein, plaintiff’s two year old daughter witnessed her mother’s beating and arrest by the Officers, as did others.”
 Smith claims the cops taunted her and threatened to take her daughter away......<br /> <br /> “The officers, despite the pleas of plaintiff, refused to call plaintiff’s mother. Instead, the officers tormented plaintiff by telling her that her daughter would be taken from her and sent to Social Services. Seeing plaintiff’s distressful reaction to these tormenting threats, they continued,” the complaint states.
 Smith says claims she was arrested and taken to jail on bogus charges that she assaulted Church and resisted arrest.
 She claims Church failed to appear for her trial – twice, and prosecutors dropped the charges, but she had to hire a lawyer and spend more money recovering her impounded car. Justin Case http://jpgmag.com/photonews http://jpgmag.com/photonews/display/2085 It turns out that the 2013 World Press Photo of the Year -- the largest and most prestigious press photography ... Tue, 14 May 2013 04:45:57 PST It turns out that the 2013 World Press Photo of the Year -- the largest and most prestigious press photography ... Cathaleen Curtiss