The Most Recent Media Harassment

Here is a Wall Street Journal story about an incident in Saratoga NY along with the video shot by the news crew. As the judiciary says, "Ignorance of the law is no defense". However, that is not equally applied toward law enforcement officers who are ignorant.

The story:
http://online.wsj.com …4c97805411847e8​8c806.html

The video:
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=bChXANbtbFY

Wow, that's pretty bad. Another example of people's rights being trampled on by overzealous and uniformed law enforcement. I respect and appreciate law enforcement and realize that there are thousands of good law enforcement personnel for every bad one, but that doesn't excuse the behavior of these few.

Bryan

What's the issue?

>>> … A lieutenant from the Mount McGregor Correctional Facility ... said the crew had not gotten prior permission to film on prison grounds….

>>>It [the state Department of Correctional Services] ... said Mulholland violated a policy intended to ensure the safety of all staff, visitors and prisoners.

Is the mentioned policy state law? Is it constitutional? Was the prison officer charged with enforcing it?

If the policy the NewsChannel 13 employees (apparently knowingly) violated is bad policy, it should be done away with by the state legislature. If it's good policy, it should be enforced.

NewsChannel 13 and the Associated press are grandstanding rather than reporting.

Tedder wrote in post #17068354
What's the issue?

I think the issue is this:

If the news crew was disrupting the enjoyment of the historic site for the other tourists, then I think it's entirely reasonable for the officers to tell them to settle down or leave. I've never seen a news crew that was quiet and inconspicuous.

The officers can't ask them to delete the footage that they already shot, however. That was a bad call on the part of the corrections officers, for sure.

groundloop wrote in post #17068379
I think the issue is this:

Yes, and state parks routinely require that film crews have filming permits—even when they're not filming an adjacent occupied state prison, as the NewsChannel 13 employees were doing.

The NewsChannel 13 employees certainly knew full well that a permit was required, and they probably received one on their visit one day before this incident.

It seems to me that people who believe such policies to be bad should lobby to change them rather than knowingly violating them and then screaming "foul!"

But there is a difference between a film crew and a news crew. I have a major problem with the government interfering in a news story.

AlFooteIII wrote in post #17068479
But there is a difference between a film crew and a news crew. I have a major problem with the government interfering in a news story.

What news were they filming? The event they filmed (without any interference) the day before could be regarded as news, but there was nothing happening when they were stopped, they were just shooting general footage which could have been shot any time.

With nothing happening that could be construed as news, they were just a film crew who should have arranged a permit in advance.

AlFooteIII wrote in post #17068479
But there is a difference between a film crew and a news crew. I have a major problem with the government interfering in a news story.

I wonder whether the permit policy distinguishes between a news film crew and any other type of film crew. If it does, I'd wonder why it does and whether it should.

In this case, the policy is probably directed more toward news crews because they're thought to be more likely to reveal the identities of inmates, staff, and visitors while filming the state prison.

In any case, your comment reminds me of a conversation I had with someone who objected to a highway patrolman telling a reporter and cameraman from a TV station to step away from an accident while emergency crews did their rescue work.

If I were on the scene and had my camera, I asked, should the patrolman permit me to stand beside the TV station's crew and film the rescue too? Should everyone else with a camera also be allowed to do so?

The issue, then, was who gains special access and why. And who determines who gains that special access?

Tedder wrote in post #17068440
Yes, and state parks routinely require that film crews have filming permits....

Are you positive a filming permit was required, or is that just conjecture? It didn't say a word about that in the linked story. It did say, however, that they were filming from an access road and the police basically just didn't want them to film.

Wow, Again amazed at how photographers on this forum are so quick to side with the group that is taking away our rights.

Lets assume for 1 second that for some crazy reason the local news must actually get a permit from Albany to film at Grants cottage, or on a public state road side... (frankly I don't believe this, I think this is something the officer just parroted to make his point) but lets assume it is so.

Was the officers approach and methodology in any way reasonable?

No. Not in the least.

this dude treated the newscaster in a manner in which he would treat a prisoner, someone who's rights have already been removed by the state. This was not how a Police Officer would treat a Citizen.

A few points;
Corrections officers have absolutely no business attempting to enforce State Park rules.
Corrections officers can not pull you over on a state/public highway.
They can not block state roads with their vehicles
They can not detain anyone other than prisoners under any circumstances.
They can not seize private property.
They are not charged with the enforcement of any law outside of the facility. (the facility which was very clearly in the background, and the public road was not even NEAR the fence that separates it.)

Saratoga Newscasters are the ugliest bunch of people I have ever seen on TV other than in a "reality show" like "Cops". These people are NOT HD ready, and need to be replaced with attractive people. They can go back to work on News Radio.

This was one of the most egregious over reaches of this type I've ever heard of.

If news crews had to get permits to shoot - that would definitely be an easy way to control the flow of information

groundloop wrote in post #17068607
Are you positive a filming permit was required, or is that just conjecture? It didn't say a word about that in the linked story.

I based my comment on the following two portions of the incomplete and one-sided AP story:

>>> … A lieutenant from the Mount McGregor Correctional Facility ... said the crew had not gotten prior permission to film on prison grounds….

>>>It [the state Department of Correctional Services] ... said Mulholland violated a policy intended to ensure the safety of all staff, visitors and prisoners.

What "prior permission" was he referring to, and what policy were they violating? The story withholds that information.

groundloop wrote in post #17068607
It did say, however, that they were filming from an access road and the police basically just didn't want them to film.

The opening sentence of the article says they were "on the grounds of an empty, soon-to-be-closed state prison." The article also says that the "empty" prison is "being staffed."

jeeze, I'm sure those cops will get a stern slap on the wrist......

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #17068631
Wow, Again amazed at how photographers on this forum are so quick to side with the group that is taking away our rights.

Lets assume for 1 second that for some crazy reason the local news must actually get a permit from Albany to film at Grants cottage, or on a public state road side... (frankly I don't believe this, I think this is something the officer just parroted to make his point) but lets assume it is so.

Was the officers approach and methodology in any way reasonable?

No. Not in the least.

this dude treated the newscaster in a manner in which he would treat a prisoner, someone who's rights have already been removed by the state. This was not how a Police Officer would treat a Citizen.

A few points;
Corrections officers have absolutely no business attempting to enforce State Park rules.
Corrections officers can not pull you over on a state/public highway.
They can not block state roads with their vehicles
They can not detain anyone other than prisoners under any circumstances.
They can not seize private property.
They are not charged with the enforcement of any law outside of the facility. (the facility which was very clearly in the background, and the public road was not even NEAR the fence that separates it.)

Saratoga Newscasters are the ugliest bunch of people I have ever seen on TV other than in a "reality show" like "Cops". These people are NOT HD ready, and need to be replaced with attractive people. They can go back to work on News Radio.

This was one of the most egregious over reaches of this type I've ever heard of.

The article states that the news crew was on prison grounds. Are you claiming the article is incorrect?

As for you being "again amazed", I find that a significant majority of POTN members consistently come down on the side of the photographer. In this case, I'm not sure if they had the right to be doing what they were doing. However, the attempt to seize the video was very likely unlawful.