Amtrak, NPPA, Spoofed On Colbert Report
DURHAM, NC (February 3, 2009) - The National Press Photographers Association's efforts to prevent photographers from being hassled by Amtrak police and railroad officials was spoofed last night in a five-minute "Nailed 'Em" report on The Colbert Report.
In addition to profiling photographer Duane Kerzic, an NPPA member who was arrested by Amtrak police in New York's Penn Station while trying to take pictures to submit to Amtrak's annual photography contest, NPPA Region 2 director Todd Maisel was interviewed in the story.
When NPPA was introduced in the parody story, the organization's logo appeared along with Arabic writing underneath it and a soundtrack of Middle Eastern music, and was referred to as a "shady organization" that hangs out "in dark rooms" and "fearing overexposure" (as an image of a photographer developing a print under safelights was shown).
Stephen Colbert closed the report by calling Amtrak's photography contest "their most cleverest ruse since their so-called timetable."
What's not mentioned in the Colbert Report is that thanks to NPPA's insistence, Amtrak's legal counsel is in dialogue with NPPA's general legal counsel about re-writing the railroad's photography polices as well as taking a second look at the guidelines that the railroad has issued to their police department regarding the treatment of photographers.
"The Colbert Report is a funny show and they did what they were supposed to do, make people laugh," NPPA's executive director Jim Straight said today. "I just hope that in all of the comedy, the seriousness of the issue and the earnest efforts of the NPPA to address it are not lost. I would encourage anyone who is coming to this issue for the first time because they saw it on cable television last night to read up on what the NPPA has been doing in the real world to address Amtrak's unconstitutional policies."
The video is online here.
Reader earlier stories about NPPA's efforts with Amtrak
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