The NPPA is an active advocate for the legal rights of visual journalists. Our work includes issues connected to First Amendment access, drone regulations, copyright, access and credentialing, cameras in court, “ag-gag” laws, unlawful assault on visual journalists and cases that affect the ability to record events and issues of public interest. Our work benefits not only individuals but the public at large.
You can support this advocacy by making a tax-deductible donation to NPPA Legal Advocacy and Education through the National Press Photographers Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization charged with advancing photojournalism through education and awarding scholarships and fellowships to deserving individuals.
December, 2020 - In a year that has been exceptionally polarizing for media coverage, our general counsel Mickey Osterreicher and Alicia Calzada, worked unflinchingly in support of members’ rights. When members were detained or arrested during protests, they called Mickey or Alicia for advice, assistance and support.
Here are articles (that are updated as they are published) where our legal Advocacy for the NPPA has been involved.
The NPPA urges accountability for police who violate journalists’ rights and has long been at the forefront of the rights of citizens and journalists to document police performing their official duties in a public place.
In 2019, NPPA was a plaintiff in multiple lawsuits challenging unconstitutional laws and policies that affect photographers’ First Amendment rights. Our Advocacy team helped prevent an increase in fees for copyright registration.
After several years of advocacy and grassroots efforts by a coalition that includes NPPA, the CASE Act – bipartisan legislation that would create a copyright small claims tribunal within the U.S. Copyright Office – passed the House and made significant progress in the Senate.
“Infringement takes a direct economic toll on these small business owners, and takes time, energy and money away from their work as journalists,” Osterreicher said. In November 2019, we explained how a federal court ruling that will protect photojournalists from suspicionless searches of their cell phones, cameras and laptops mirrors a lawsuit filed a decade ago by NPPA. And we are helping photographers navigate the legalities of drone journalism while fighting unconstitutional restrictions of newsgathering on the ground and in the air.
Other efforts include NPPA joining in amicus (friend of the court) briefs in support of many of the issues facing journalists. Multiple stories about our Advocacy work and NPPA news can be found here.
The National Press Photographers Association’s Advocacy Committee is led by NPPA Advocacy Chair and Attorney Alicia Wagner Calzada and NPPA General Counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher. The committee works to further the NPPA’s mission of advancing visual journalism by addressing local and federal policy issues that affect our members’ ability to provide the public with news images. The official spokesperson of the NPPA is always the sitting president and all advocacy committee activity is done with the knowledge and approval of the president who is automatically a member of the committee.
Whether working with government agencies and leaders or participating in “friend of the court” briefs on cases affecting news photographers, the Advocacy Committee diligently monitors issues affecting visual journalists and works to ensure that their voices are heard.
On a case-by-case basis the Advocacy Committee also addresses individual issues affecting the right of the public and the press to document and record images in order to protect those constitutional freedoms.
NPPA Advocacy Committee Contacts
Alicia Wagner Calzada, Esq: [email protected]
Mickey H. Osterreicher, Esq.: [email protected]
For more NPPA Advocacy Committee view our Legal Resources.
