NPPA vigorously promotes freedom of the press in all its forms.
- excerpt from the NPPA mission statement
The National Press Photographers Association’s Advocacy Committee, Chaired by Alicia Wagner-Calzada and supported by the NPPA’s general counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher, Esq., works to further the NPPA’s mission of advancing photojournalism by addressing local and federal policy issues that affect our members’ ability to provide the public with news images.
As needed the Advocacy Committee will address breaking issues not anticipated but requiring action. Otherwise, the efforts of the Advocacy Committee will focus primarily on the following issues in the coming year:
NPPA supports a federal shield law, especially as it relates to photographs, digital files, video outtakes, and negatives.
Photographers can't properly and safely do their jobs unless they can be seen as independent of law enforcement. Each time a subpoena is issued for unpublished images, it chips away at the independent nature of journalists and our role as unbiased observers.
We are concerned that government officials and law enforcement throughout the nation have misinterpreted the Patriot Act and post-9/11 anti-terrorism efforts to include a need to limit photography in public places. We have seen government entities work to prohibit photography on every level.
We support efforts to open the federal courts and the Supreme Court to photography and video recording. These efforts would enhance the public’s access to the courts.
We believe that the vision the founding fathers had for an open and public court is not currently realized in our federal court system. All citizens are affected by Supreme Court rulings yet a statistically insignificant number have access to the court. Due to significant technological advances, cameras can be unobtrusively placed in any courtroom in a soundproof box and even operated remotely if necessary.
NPPA supports strong protections for photographers’ intellectual property and opposes measures that would limit these rights.
Any orphan works legislation to limit photographers’ rights must include specific and comprehensive requirements for an exhaustive search for the owner of a work – particularly given the fact that many photographs are transmitted without identifying the images’ authors. Legislation should protect photographers’ rights to obtain full compensation, attorney’s fees, and statutory damages, for any unauthorized use of a work, and to enjoin unauthorized uses.
All three branches of government must work to ensure that journalists – and, through them, the public – have access to places and events controlled by the government.
At present, the media access problem continues to worsen: for instance, photographers are being kept out of significantly more presidential events and meetings than under previous administrations, with the White House offering handout photos instead. This severely restricts the impartiality of the press, an essential part of our democracy. We want to see the media allowed into all meetings and events.
Please check the news section of this site for updates on the NPPA’s advocacy efforts.
