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Bloggers Now Eligible For Press Passes In NYC

Posted by Soulskill on from the what-hath-god-wrought dept.

RobotRunAmok writes "The New York City Police Department announced Tuesday that bloggers and others who publish on the Web will now be eligible for press credentials. The move comes as a result of a lawsuit filed in 2008 by three Web journalists who were denied press passes. In New York, journalists with press passes are typically allowed to cross police barricades at public events. 'Events that will qualify include city-sponsored activity — like a press conference or parade — as well as emergencies where the city has set up do-not-cross lines. The proposal also allows inexperienced journalists to obtain single-use press passes. Longtime civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel, who represented the journalists who sued, says the city will now decide who a journalist is by looking at the type of work they do, and not the organization they write for.'"

10 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. great, thanks a lot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    as a photographer who makes part of my income with press/arts photography, im not looking forward to this. It just means more morons crowding events and creating problems for the rest of us. Yeah, im real happy you write/shoot for some blog with 5 people who read it.

    1. Re:great, thanks a lot by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      1. Have covered such events in the past.
      2. Have a measurable audience somehow... be it web, print, TV, radio, etc.

      Ah, the age old question..
      How can I get a job without experience?
      And how can I get experience without a job?

    2. Re:great, thanks a lot by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah... I think the press pass should be limited to people who:

      1. Have covered such events in the past.
      2. Have a measurable audience somehow... be it web, print, TV, radio, etc.
      3. Haven't caused problems at previous events.

      1. So, in order to cover such an event, you must have a Press Pass, and in order to get a Press Pass, you must have covered such an event.

      2. In order to have an audience, you must get the news. In order to get the news, you've got to have an audience.

      3. In order to get a Press Pass, you have to have covered such an event without one. Which pretty much means going past police barricades or some similar illegal activity. So, pretty much be definition, you'll have misbehaved at a previous event.

      In summary, your requirements reduce to:

      1. No-one will be issued Press Passes.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    3. Re:great, thanks a lot by HungryHobo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      actually it's

      "No-one will be issued Press Passes except the people like me who have already been issued press passes"

    4. Re:great, thanks a lot by Dumnezeu · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah, but after a while, you gain enough experience to be on your own. It also ensures that you have someone to mentor you about the obligations and rights of journalists in the real world (not just on paper).

      --
      Yes, it's sarcasm. Deal with it!
    5. Re:great, thanks a lot by Dan541 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Journalists write the most atrocious crap of all. Bloggers are often far more professional.

      Why, because the Journalist is trying to sell a storey so they will write about things with zero qualifications or experience.

      The blogger on the other hand is writing about their area of passion and has nothing to sell, Often the blogger will have experience and expertise in what they are doing, the same is not true for journalists.

      --
      An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
  2. Re:Start with the journalists who were laid off... by Tobor+the+Eighth+Man · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think it's great in theory, but in practice I'm always worried that this is another way for corporations to profit off the work of little guys while paying them less and giving them fewer benefits, backing, and security. Freelancing (and that's what this is) is like contracting, with all the ups and downsides that go along with it, except it's a damn sight harder for a freelancer to make a living comparable to a full-time employee than it is for a contractor to do the same.

  3. Re:Journalism or just diarrhea? by HungryHobo · · Score: 1, Insightful

    so do 90% of "journalists".

  4. Re:Bloggers for Satan. by sobachatina · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I disagree with you completely.

    It is impossible to guarantee that a journalist is going to report an event with a bias in your favor. You can't expect it now from traditional journalists- why would you expect it from bloggers.

    It is not the responsibility of the police or event organizers or the people who issue press passes to evaluate potential biases in the journalists.

    It IS the responsibility of the readers of those journalists to identify their biases and accept or reject their reports accordingly- just like it always has been with reporting.

  5. Re:Bloggers don't report news by megamerican · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They editorialize.

    Since when did "news" mean copying and pasting a press release? "Editorializing" is nothing more than asking questions and trying to answer them.

    If newspapers actually did this then there'd be no reason to go to blogs.

    --
    If you have something that you dont want anyone to know, maybe you shouldnt be doing it in the first place -Eric Schmidt