press passes..

[felix21685]

hey guys,

In High School while i took photojournalism they issued us press passes. looked like the real thing :)
now im much older and would like to know if there is any other place besides
the following which would get you a press pass..i dont care if there are requirements..
http://picturestock.com/phpcode/web/press_pass.php

i'd love to get something like that..
anything else like it out there?

[Steve Parr]

These are the two things that concern me:

Each letter sent on your behalf, per event, costs $15 US. Our press credentials will help you gain entry into events; however, Picture Stock does not guarantee you will gain access to any event using our press credentials or letter drafted on company letterhead. Once we process your request, the $15 US administration fee is non-refundable.

-AND-

The cost of our Picture Stock Worldwide Press Pass is $50 US (shipping included anywhere worldwide) and it will be valid for three (3) years.

I tend to be a "glass is half empty" kinda' guy when it involves money. Looking at their submission form, it costs fifty cents per image to submit, with a minimum of 25 images per submission. Each $12.50 minimum submission, added to the $50.00 pass cost and $15.00 letter processing fee, and things can add up quick.

I'd be interested to learn if anyone here has used this...

Steve

[felix21685]

yeah i saw all those fees and what not but i just wanted to see if there are similar types of places..
or do we all have to work for a newspaper to get passes

[Steiny]

I do not know a whole lot about this outfit. I do know there are others out there similar offering a "press pass". Here is my take on this. Being a member of any of these organizations may help you to a certain degree to get in to smaller events, like say you local race track. Smaller events don't tend have a person who verifies press credentials all that in depth. Something that looks somewhat official may get you in the door for some events.

The question I would have would be if say you went to a bigger event that maybe has an official press person. Let's say like the NBA or NFL or some other pro sports events. My guess is if when you applied for credentials and they saw Picturestock.com, you would most likely be denied. If anyone has any insight on that, please share.

I had a great experience that may shed some light on the whole press pass thing. There was a sporting event, a fairly major one that I wanted to attend in a town nearby. I wanted to go as a photographer. So what I did was I contacted the local newspaper sports editor and asked him if they would vouch for me. The local sports editor knows me fairly well and said he personally had no problem with vouching for me, but I would need to do all the legwork and in the meantime he would just make sure it was ok with his boss. So I went and applied to the organization for press credentials and when it came time to list the assigning editor, I listed the local paper and the local sports editor. A month or so later, I got approval. I was really stoked.

I then went back to the local sports editor and asked him if everything was ok with his boss. He said he had bad news, his boss did not want him to vouch for me. Now here I was with the approval already. I asked the local sports editor if he was contacted by the organization putting on the event to verify I was assigned to this event. He said no, no one had ever contacted him. I was shocked.

So I asked the local sports editor what I was to do since his boss did not want him approving me. He said go to the event and have a good time. I did and got some great pictures.

The cool thing was that I was in the database for this particular organization and approved and any future events, all I would have to do was log in and request the press pass. In fact, about 6 months after the event there was another event, not as big though. I logged in, requested the press pass, got approval, showed up and took pictures. It was fantastic once again.

Then things changed. Another 6 months went by and there was another event that I wanted to attend by the same organization. I did the usual, logged in and requested the pass. About 3 weeks went by and the local sports editor calls me and says he got a call from so and so from this organization wanting to verify that I was assigned by the local sports editor to this event. The local sports editor told me that he could not do that. Subsequently I was denied the press pass.

Now I have to find another source to vouch for me. I can certainly understand why a local newspaper would not assign someone not on staff. Sure, they know me and all, but there are liability issues I am positive of that. I could also just be a guy trying to get a free ticket into an event.

So now I am in a position of how can I get a reputable organization to sort of give me an assignment to an event. What I do not want to do is use an outfit like Picturestock as my assignor and then maybe find out that they are not reputable in the eyes of the organization I am applying for credentials for. If I do that, I am sure I will be blacklisted and never get to an event again by that organization.

Some would say the only legit way to get an assignment to a big event is to work for say a credible newspaper or magazine. That is probably 98% true. However, I do not want to work for a local paper or magazine. I already have a business and the picture thing is just a hobby. That is not to say my pictures were any less. In fact, my pictures are just as good as many of the ones other photographers are getting.

Back to Photostock. I think the press pass they advertise could just as esily be made on ones home computer and a lot cheaper.

It sure would be interesting to hear what others have to say on this.




hey guys,

In High School while i took photojournalism they issued us press passes. looked like the real thing :)
now im much older and would like to know if there is any other place besides
the following which would get you a press pass..i dont care if there are requirements..
http://picturestock.com/phpcode/web/press_pass.php

i'd love to get something like that..
anything else like it out there?

[felix21685]

steiny..thanks for sharing man..
thats awesome.. i wish i had connections like you do..
im still wanting to know if there is other places out there that will help you out...

[gmen]

The picturestock.com scheme just looks look a licence for them to print money I'm afraid.

In the UK, there is a voluntary system of Press Cards. The definition of eligibility is that a card carrier must be working "professionally as a media worker who needs to identify himself or herself in public." The principal occupations covered are reporters and writers, photographers, film and video camera operators and crews and other broadcasting workers such as producers, researchers etc...

There are 16 'gatekeepers' to the scheme - depending on which area of the media you operate in. For example, my press card is issued via the Newspaper Society who deal with local and regional newspapers.

For the majority of organised sporting events, accreditation is gained in advance via your publication - so, simply having a card in itself will rarely provide access. It can sometimes comes in handy as ID and in situations where there is confusion over credentials (lost faxes etc.) I recently attended a boxing event where my name was not on the list despite my editor faxing and e-mailing for accreditation - on this occasion, in conjunction with a phonecall to the editor, the card helped me gain access.

The card comes into its own in spot-news gathering situations. In these situations, the card may gain access to areas that the general public are not allowed into. Each card applicant is verified by the Metropolitan Police force and this certainly gives professional credibility to the card holder.

Here are a couple of links about Press Cards:
http://www.nuj.org.uk/inner.php?docid=69
http://www.presscard.uk.com/
http://www.newspapersoc.org.uk/

I'm not sure if similar systems exist elsewhere in the world. However, your best route to press access to events is to have the backing of a publication. Most dot-com stock agencies have very little credibility in the eyes of many event organisers.

My advice would be to foster a good relationship with a local newspaper editor or a magazine, work hard at smaller events to get photos that demand publication and go from there. It can take time - but the rewards are worth it.

Good luck ---- Gavin

[scottbergerphoto]

In NYC, Press Passes are issued by the NYPD, Deputy Commissioner for Public Information. You need to be employed by a major publication or have letters from 2 editors.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/dcpi/presscred.html

[EricKonieczny]

see this

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=58026

From a previous discussion:


There are also times when you will have to go through a bands/ artists PR firm to get media passes. This can be a pain in the butt, but well worth it. This means contacting there record label, their manager, and maybe the PR firm. You will have to present to them where your shots will be published, with an article written or review of the show, and then another can of worms is who has rights to the photographs and how will they get copies.

I am currently going through this process for a show on June 3rd. So far have spoken with the Venue's manager, Record label manager, and now I am to the PR firms pubilicty director.

[PhotosGuy]

Calling them "press passes" over here will brand you as an amateur & you'll probably be automatically turned down. They are now called "Credentials".
Failing accreditation through an editor, you might contact some teams that you got shots of in the past. They may provide the "in" that you need. ;-)

[ssim]

I just spent the weekend at a World Cup downhill bike race. I was fortuneate enough to get approval for press pass. There were many people there that had press passes from other organizations but if you didn't display one of the event's passes you didn't get trackside. Their approval process was fairly stringent as well.

The photostock thing seems to be a bit too easy and way too easy for them to make money.

[Loaded]

im gonna find out. i'l let you know. I live in Dallas texas and have lots of events i can attend so lets see

[Longwatcher]

If you can't get a local news source to sponser you for an event, then try contacting the event staff themselves for a press pass. Has worked for me twice. I state, correctly, that I am a freelance photographer and am interested in photographing the event on a freelance basis. It won't always work and if there is a restricted number of press then you are less likely to get it, but they will usually let one or two freelance photographers in just to balance things out (at least around my area). They then either mail you the media pass or have you pick it up at a designated location before the event.

Having a portfolio to show helped with one of the two, I doubt the other event even checked since they were having a low media turnout.

Just my experience and opinion,

[felix21685]

thanks for all the great info.. if someone has more..lets hear it !

[Asmodeus]

As a working freelance journalist, I just go directly to the event organizers for press credentials. It is to my advantage that I have been on staff at national publications, and have a reputation in my area of expertise. I am, however, completely self-employed now and have never had an issue getting credentials. It probably helps that, if necessary, I can point to one national publication that lists me as a "Senior Contributing Editor" on their masthead and another that lists me as "Contributing Editor."

I have never had problems getting event press accredidation even in areas outside my normal coverage.

[poogpost]

Bottom line is that it depends on where you live. Real credentials are usually issued by the Police Department. As was said earlier, here in New York it is issued by the NYPD. Having press credentials will typically get you across fire lines and into breaking news events but they alone will not get you into venues such as sporting events and concerts. You will need additional credentials for those types of events.

John