Press Passes: an interesting little fight...
Yesterday, the National Union of Journalists attacked our Press Passes.
They declared that: "Police forces and other organisations are warned today about a so-called “press pass” which is being sold by Demotix, the amateur journalists’ website."
UK Press Card Authority chair Mike Granatt said: “The Demotix ‘press pass’ is nothing of the sort, despite the fact that it is designed to look like a genuine journalists’ identity document", and called us a community of "hobbyists". ;-)
I responded in Journalism.co.uk, and have also now spoken to the Guardian and Press Gazette about this.
But the basic cut of our message is very simple:
Our view has always been that everyone everywhere who is seriously engaged in the news should have right of enquiry.
We also believe we make better judges of that 'seriousness' than the globe's police forces, or - frankly - bottlenecking trade organisations that decide who gets the right to be a journalist.
Demotix was founded to expand the plurality of voices involved in talking truth to power, and we believe we prove that daily with your work.
Of course, we will continue to do everything we can to help you report, annoy and photograph precisely those people and events that the powers that be would like to exclude you from.
Thank you Dev. all the best
Thank you Dev. all the best Lawrence
Lawrence, thank you so much
Lawrence, thank you so much for your sharing your experience! I just received my DPP and the accompanying guidelines are a clear reminder of the issues, though it's advice like yours that adds meaning and relevance to them. One more proud, card-holding member :) Best wishes, Dev
This is no wonder the
This is no wonder the reaction of well establishes players when a new competent enters. There is nothing to be bothered about. I received my beautiful press pass just today itself. I am very glad and a lot more motivated now. I am proud to be a member of Demotix. We are on the right track. Let's keep on klicking with our ear closed to such rubbish statements.
Dev whenever I have been
Dev whenever I have been stopped by the police they always ask for my ID/passport. Once they accept that the press card serves to confirm what I say I am doing, if, that is, they are still interested in me. But I have never come across someone who rejected the validity of the card. In any case all they have to do is check the website and your reports to confirm that you are legitimate.Of course, having business cards helps (I don't include my address but will give it out if asked.) and I also use the same photo of me on the website and the press card to make it easy for people. Now, unless there are special personal security issues, if we do not include our full name on the website and do not include a clear photo of ourselves, we cannot expect people to have too much faith in what we say. I accept that many people live in countries where they have a lot of problems reporting. Maybe the issue here is not the press card as such but the way event are reported and the way people go about taking photos. Lawrence
A glaring vulnerability, I
A glaring vulnerability, I feel, in the issuing of Demotix press passes, is the total lack of verification. A minimal requirement for the minimal security of the company and the community would be a valid photo ID : e.g. passport, driver's license, student ID, etc. As it stands, the credibility of the DPP is indefensible, though it's a fine token of trust within the community/company.
Openness and trust are, I think, Demotix' strongest qualities on the internal side of things. It's what made me sign up, happily. Interfacing with the 'outside world' -- governments, organizations, etc. -- calls for a more 'practical' approach.
Disclosure: still waiting for my piece of holographic plastic, though that hasn't affected the shooting :)
As we say in India: "Demotix Zindabad!"
Hi Juliette, thanks for the
Hi Juliette, thanks for the message, will do Lawrence
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I understand the concerns. I
I understand the concerns. I have a danish press card, which grants me permission to go through police lines. The established associations are afraid, that the press will get less respected by the authorities. Especially in the United Kingdom, where the press have met a lot of unnecessary resistance from the police.
But I think Demotix has established some integrity and respect among the main stream media, in the short time it has existed. We had photos from breaking news events that the main stream media didn't catch. We have been accredited to huge events and meeting like the UN Climate summit in Copenhagen last year. There have been overwhelming positive response from the most respectable newspapers in the world.
I hope the card can be a useful tool for the people who need it, especially in countries where the press have a hard time reporting accurate stories.