NPPA calls for renewed focus on field safety

January, 2022 - After a close call for a multimedia journalist during a solo live-shot along an active roadway on January 19, 2022, NPPA Safety & Security Chair Chris Post lays out some tips for safe live shots.

Public Safety - Press Relations Up in the Air

June 10, 2021 - In case you missed the drone webinar by the NPPA and DroneResponders, it was recorded. "Public Safety - Press Relations Up in the Air: Using UAS for Newsgathering" discussed the latest updates to FAA Part 107 including training/testing, flights over people, night flights and remote ID.

Panelists included Mike O’Shea, of the FAA, Charles L. Werner, DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance, and NPPA general counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher.

Watch on YouTube.

Stay tuned for future webinars by watching @NPPA Twitter and our weekly newsletter.

Lessons learned from D.C.: Tips to prepare and know your journalistic rights on evidence

Jan. 11, 2021 - We have heard from many of our members with concerns about their rights as police and federal agents seek evidence of the seditious attack on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. While we are not aware of any attempts to request or subpoena evidence from journalists, below is some advice in the event you are asked for footage, outtakes or other journalistic work product related to the events of that day. 

Here is a list of how you can prepare.

How to use different kinds of PPE while covering COVD-19

By Chris Post, Chair, NPPA Safety & Security Task Force, demostrates proper use of various kinds of PPE. Post worked in EMT for 20 years before becoming a photojournalist for WFMZ in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

There are timestamps below to forward to specific information about using differents kinds of PPE. 

How to use different kinds of PPE while covering COVD-19 from Chris Post on Vimeo.

Topic Area Time Codes

0:22 - Introductions
1:28 - Levels of airway protection and full-face respirator
4:04 - Half-face respirator
5:30 - N95
7:32 - Don and doff of N95 and gloves
10:33 - Outerwear
13:32 - Respiratory protection rating system
15:38 - Cloths masks
18:00 - Wrap-up

CDC PPE Guidelines

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FAIR USE NOTE: This video is free to share and embed directly to your website from Chris Post's Vimeo page by organizations that support journalist and journalism safety. Mandatory credit to the creator with tagging in social media.

Violence towards the media is on the rise. Here are tips to stay aware and safe while working on the street.

May 9, 2020 - By Chris Post, Chair, NPPA Safety & Security Committee, click here. 

Violence towards the media is on the rise, tensions are high, and the constant pummeling of the “Fake News” mantra doesn't help calm the already turbulent situation.

Downloadable PDFs for Healthy and Safety

Eat well, focus on the positive, and other great tips for getting through stressful situations (like the Coronavirus outbreak and subsequent social isolation and self quarantining)

March 16, 2020

Many people are hyper-focused on health right now but worry, stress and poor nutrition will not help. It won't help the immune system fight off the billions of bacteria that are always present. It also won't help one’s energy or state of mind regarding positive and healthy behaviors. Certainly not now, but really, not ever.

Here is a downloadable PDF with recommendations on how to choose wisely to stay healthy.

Used with permission from Derek Alessi, Ph.D.

The new coronavirus is sweeping the globe. What is it? And how can you protect yourself and your crews so they can effectively cover it? 

March 14, 2020

Here is a downloadable informational tip sheet about COVID-19 that includes links to resources.

Thanks to Chris Post, NPPA's Safety & Security Task Force rep, for compiling this information. If you have questions for Chris, please email him and he'll get back to you ASAP. His contact info is on the bottom of the tip sheet. 

Critical incident guidelines

A critical incident can be defined as any event that has a stressful impact sufficient enough to overwhelm the usually effective coping skills of an individual. Critical incidents are abrupt, powerful events that fall outside the range of ordinary human experiences.

We have put together a Safety Help Sheet with tips on what to do immediately after a critical stress incident, how to handle the next few days, and the most commonly reported reactions after a critical incident. Because we want you to know that you are not alone. You can download that here.

Recognizing stress

There are several ways in which stress may impact your life. It can include stress or burnout, situations that individually might not be considered traumatic but overtime lead to a sense of incapacity and an inability to deal with perceived demands can be adopted for use in journalism, PR, and communications.

We have a Safety Help Sheet that tells you where that stress may typically come from, as well as various signs and symptoms of stress. The reason you are feeling the symptoms of stress matters much less than your ability to identify them and seek help when needed. Please download that sheet here and feel free to share it with your colleagues.