Press Credential Limitations

Press credentials are for NEWS, sports even though it is reported on TV and in papers is not really news, it is sports entertainment. HS and College are news but they are generally folllowing the same as pro sports. They have total control over access, image usage, (other than editorial) and sales of reprints.

No press credentials do not work for pro sports, they issue and control their own. So if you want to shoot basketball or other sports the paper has to send their media relations department a letter, fax or email requesting a credential. And you will most likely be presented with a written agreement to restrict the usage of any images you shoot to editorial ONLY. If you try to resell those images for posters, coffee cups or reprints you can and probably will get sued. In order to use sports or music related images in commercial work it requires a license that is VERY expensive, and you will be required to share your profit with whatever team is involved. Refuse to sign the contract? You will be asked to leave.

Your general credential issued by the paper can be used as ID at fires, car wrecks or other hard news events. But keep in mind that the Police, fire department and private security can refuse you access, even if you are recognized press...

BTW anyone can create their own press credential and it has about the same level of recognition...

LBaldwin wrote in post #8033501
Press credentials are for NEWS, sports even though it is reported on TV and in papers is not really news, it is sports entertainment. HS and College are news but they are generally folllowing the same as pro sports. They have total control over access, image usage, (other than editorial) and sales of reprints.

No press credentials do not work for pro sports, they issue and control their own. So if you want to shoot basketball or other sports the paper has to send their media relations department a letter, fax or email requesting a credential. And you will most likely be presented with a written agreement to restrict the usage of any images you shoot to editorial ONLY. If you try to resell those images for posters, coffee cups or reprints you can and probably will get sued. In order to use sports or music related images in commercial work it requires a license that is VERY expensive, and you will be required to share your profit with whatever team is involved. Refuse to sign the contract? You will be asked to leave.

Your general credential issued by the paper can be used as ID at fires, car wrecks or other hard news events. But keep in mind that the Police, fire department and private security can refuse you access, even if you are recognized press...

BTW anyone can create their own press credential and it has about the same level of recognition...

thanks for the clarification.

as far as making their own press credential, that's interesting. the one i received looks pretty official with contact info for confirmation and even a signature from the EIC. but i can see how it can be made easily.

The idea is that everyone in the US is afforded freedom of the press, so anyone (technically) can be a member of the press.

LBaldwin wrote in post #8033501
Press credentials are for NEWS, sports even though it is reported on TV and in papers is not really news, it is sports entertainment. HS and College are news but they are generally folllowing the same as pro sports. They have total control over access, image usage, (other than editorial) and sales of reprints.

No press credentials do not work for pro sports, they issue and control their own. So if you want to shoot basketball or other sports the paper has to send their media relations department a letter, fax or email requesting a credential. And you will most likely be presented with a written agreement to restrict the usage of any images you shoot to editorial ONLY. If you try to resell those images for posters, coffee cups or reprints you can and probably will get sued. In order to use sports or music related images in commercial work it requires a license that is VERY expensive, and you will be required to share your profit with whatever team is involved. Refuse to sign the contract? You will be asked to leave.

Your general credential issued by the paper can be used as ID at fires, car wrecks or other hard news events. But keep in mind that the Police, fire department and private security can refuse you access, even if you are recognized press...

BTW anyone can create their own press credential and it has about the same level of recognition...

I've only had to sign a waiver to shoot an Eagles concert, never a sporting event, as the back of the press pass for a sporting event has all that covered.

LBaldwin wrote in post #8033775
The idea is that everyone in the US is afforded freedom of the press, so anyone (technically) can be a member of the press.

technically, but if that were the case.....i shouldn't have needed a special press pass for the Long Beach Grand Prix to access special areas strictly for the press photographers.

MacFly wrote in post #8057352
technically, but if that were the case.....i shouldn't have needed a special press pass for the Long Beach Grand Prix to access special areas strictly for the press photographers.

Hi Macfly,
No, please read my post. Press is for NEWS. Races, sporting events, MLB, NBA, etc are not really news. They are and have been for quite some time, closed events. If it requires a ticket, it is not hard news like you would see at a crash, fire, speech etc. Many press events now issue their own credentials so that they can control to some extent the images or video shot.

Press events, government speechs, plane crashes, wild weather are hard news events no tickets sold to attend the event..

News stations, papers and now websites mix the two and report them all togeather as a package, and it is getting tougher for the general public to tell the difference, and the news reporting services do that on purpose.

LBaldwin wrote in post #8033775
The idea is that everyone in the US is afforded freedom of the press, so anyone (technically) can be a member of the press.

LBaldwin wrote in post #8057535
Hi Macfly,
No, please read my post. Press is for NEWS. Races, sporting events, MLB, NBA, etc are not really news. They are and have been for quite some time, closed events. If it requires a ticket, it is not hard news like you would see at a crash, fire, speech etc. Many press events now issue their own credentials so that they can control to some extent the images or video shot.

Press events, government speechs, plane crashes, wild weather are hard news events no tickets sold to attend the event..

News stations, papers and now websites mix the two and report them all togeather as a package, and it is getting tougher for the general public to tell the difference, and the news reporting services do that on purpose.

i understood your original post, thank you. i were merely making a comment on your "freedom of the press" comment.

Different things require different access and different permissions.

Examples: Sporting events (big ones), normally require a secondary event pass. They may also issue a pool number or a location assignment. So if you are Joe Blow from The Podunk Informer you get very little access. If you are John McDonough of SI...you get all kinds of access.

Trials: Due to limited space, trial photogs generally need:
1. Permission from the court or court clerk (depends on the jurisdiction)
2. Will often get pooled. Meaning that since there is a limited number of slots shots have to be pooled and anyone shooting effectively agrees to give the other news agencies their shots. Now if you are shooting for a big agency v. a single paper they already ahve agreements in place for this kinda stuff.

3. Concerts and stage performances: Runs the gamut in terms of rules and requirements and passes. Some go so far as to say that the performer "owns" all the rights and copyright ANY pictures taken at the event. Those guys don't get a lot of press.

4. Political events: Depending on the event and who is the subject, clearance into the event can be pretty hard to very easy. Again there are often times limited spaces so a pool or a drawing might be held to assign slots. Some guys are totally on first come first served...but Obama for example has reserved slots for the big agencies...and then a rotating set of slots for smaller papers and news outlets. Political events also may require rigorous background checks prior to being admitted to a pool slot.

I absolutely disagree with the statement about all press credentials having the same "weight". Granted if you are talking about "home made" press credentials, yes those are about equal.
If you are talking about a AP/AFP/API/Reuters/Get​ty Staff Photog ID to gain access to an event v. a Podunk News Staff Photog ID , I can tell your for certain the former will get you places the latter will not 99% of the time.

Every single event we go to is differnt for who they allow in.

Music events are weird allowing some bloggers in with Point and Shoots who might have a huge folowing on the web. Sports venues are pretty strict and usually only allow some names in, especially if they're Pro Sports. Local fairs and shows will usually allow any pres in if they are accredited and know they're going to get press out of your photos.

Every time we try to apply for press passed to an event, arena or show, the rules and regulations are different. 99% of the time, showing up at the door and showing the door man a press pass will get you no where.

Each event will have a seperate pass that you will need to get credentials for in advance and be put on a list.

Local papers will usually only get you into local events, that is unless the local paper is New York Times or something like that. And usually the editor is the one handling your press credentials, not you.

Why not ask the paper that issued the ID what it does for you?

SOT wrote in post #8058432
I absolutely disagree with the statement about all press credentials having the same "weight". Granted if you are talking about "home made" press credentials, yes those are about equal.
If you are talking about a AP/AFP/API/Reuters/Get​ty Staff Photog ID to gain access to an event v. a Podunk News Staff Photog ID , I can tell your for certain the former will get you places the latter will not 99% of the time.

Again I think it is situation dependant. For events with a PIO, big names will probably get recognized, but for the beat cop on perimeter even the mighty can get turned away. But the way it is supposed to be (as opposed to reality) is that all credentials get treated the same way...

I have an interesting question though... with news orgs and papers folding on a daily basis, those staffers are now becoming either unemployed or freelancers so... they are not going to have the luxury of a big name any longer to front. What happens then if they still want to work within their field?

They will resort to creating a PJ persona just like the rest of us...

If I start a licensed business and take pictures and supply them to news orgs as an independant, does that make a me less of a journalist? Those letters you used above USED to hold weight, but for many those days are numbered. Everybody cannot shoot for them regardless of talent.

Case in point the mighty Getty having been in serious financial straits for sometime.

Sorry for the sidebar, to a very real extent I am glad to see some of those letters take one to the chin. They were very arrogant for a lot of years.

Hey Les, I think if you can keep contacts made while shooting for a big name, and still show the venue, band or gig that your photos will offer them some good press, then you'll probably be granted credentials.

We've been shooting freelance for years, and as long as we can show them past articles published, past images used in publications/papers, then we're usually granted access even though we arent using a big name that has 'Times' or 'Journal' behind the name

Only problem is with so many layoff's, the freelance market just got flooded with top name professionals

I was a credentialed media photographer for an off-road race series that is now gone.

But back last year they got too many media requests so they started issuing 4 tiers of requests starting with tier 1 for track access to keep the newbies & those who have never shot off road racing away from the danger. Then tier 2 got you on a couple of lifts & platforms outside but above the fences. Tier 3 just got you in the media booth at the top of the grandstands, also above the fence but too far for good shots without a 500mm lens.

Then there was tier 4 which only got you in the gate without having to buy you a ticket. I only saw 1 guy get tier 4, he showed up with an New York Institute of Photography press pass and after the $40 media licensing fee he got the same access as a $35 adult ticket. I don't even understand how he even got a pass in the first place, but it seems like it was a joke on him unless they just didn't notice. So he went back, got his $40 and gave back his tier 4 media pass & bought a ticket.

So just having a media pass doesn't guarantee anything sporting events or races. Now with the Long Beach Gran Prix you may be able to use that press pass to apply for media credentials a couple of months before the race, do it early because they get a lot of requests and fill up quickly. Also the application time closes a few weeks before the race. I missed it this year.

LBaldwin wrote in post #8033775
The idea is that everyone in the US is afforded freedom of the press, so anyone (technically) can be a member of the press.

That's the 'idea' but there is a huge difference. There are certain laws that protect members of the press. When you are a working member of the press, and have ID that proves you are on assignment for a publication, the police cannot just confiscate your equipment. They need probable cause like they do for every citizen, however when you are reporting news your equipment becomes a 'work product material.' Your equipment is then protected under: Federal Criminal Code 42 U.S.C. §2000aa

Also, ID's issued by the State/Jurisdiction that you report in are normally approved from a governing body such as the State Police. Having one of these ID's normally helps you out when going to an emergency scene or other hard news type of story because the police officer watching the line will recognize and not question that ID faster than one you make yourself. I do this everyday and I only ever have problems with my non-state issued ID.

To stay on topic, to the OP:

What you are issued from the state or your publication is a press ID, not a press credential. Credentials/Passes are issued by the organization you cover. For example, normally I request a credential for Phillies games through their PR office and I show my press ID when I get there to pick up my credential. Press ID's only identify you. They do not guarantee you any access, they afford you a courtesy to attain credentials and passes.