NPPA and NPPF are seeking donations to create a relief fund for NPPA photojournalists who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
News photographers are on the front lines of every major disaster and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exeption. But in addition to being at enormous personal risk as they bring vitally important information to the public, news photographers have been hit financially by cancelled assignments, layoffs, furloughs and salary cuts as publishers and other clients scale back.
Melissa Lyttle, NPPA out-going past-president and independent photographer, will moderate this discussion about safety, risk assessment, PPEs and communication between editors and photographers. This event is open to members and non-members. So come. Ask questions. Take notes.
The panel:
Grant Hindsley, freelance photographer, Seattle
Meghan Petersen, photo editor, Wall Street Journal
Kate Bubacz, photo director, Buzzfeed
Corinne Perkins, North America editor, Reuters Pictures
Rosem Morton, freelance photographer and registered nurse, New York City
Maddie McGarvey, freelance photographer, Ohio
Chris Post, TV news photojournalist, 69Newr - HEFAT, NPPA Safety Trainer
Laura Saunders, freelance photographer, Washington D.C., member of Juntos Photo Collective
Eve Edelheit, freelance photographer, St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay
Nicole Frugé, director of photography, San Francisco Chronicle
Ryan Christopher Jones, freelance photographer, New York City
Bernadette Tuazon, director of photography, CNN Digital
Kathleen Flynn, freelance photographer, New Orleans
Tim Matsui, freelance videographer, Seattle
Joe Mahoney, freelance videographer, Colorado
Jackie Folk, accountant
Allison Zaucha, freelance photographer, Los Angeles
Demetrius Freeman, freelance photographer, New York City
Lisa Bergland, freelance videographer, Gold Dog Media
Here is the video link to the recorded April 7 Town Hall meeting.
NPPA Student Coronavirus Town Hall
Hear from photojournalism students, recent graduates, and professors about how they are dealing the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics may include making work while social distancing, applying for internships, maintaining community, and more. This event is open to members and non-members to ask questions. More info to come! Live on the NPPA Facebook page.
Precautions, concerns shared in first NPPA Town Hall webinar on working in the coronavirus era
Here's the story by Lori King about NPPA's first town hall gathering, which had over 200 viewers during the 90-minute conversation.
Read the story. Facebook link to the 90-minute recording is here.
This resource list is updated daily (per section) in descending order
Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
Webinar April 2, 3:0pm EST how to apply for an EDL
Details: “Don’t leave thousands of dollars on the table! Join PPA’s CFO, Scott Kurkian, for a guided tour on how to apply for an Economic Disaster Loan. It’s a quick and easy process that you can do right now to get up to $10,000 in your bank account within 36 hours. You’ll learn:
The webinar will include a Q&A at the end. Register here.
Income opportunities for visual journalists
This list includes CARES Act information, SBA and tax filing information. It will be updated. Click here.
State-by-state orders that consider media as "essentiala' businesses to maintain operations.
This list is updated as we get information.
Prepared by Jeff Carlisle, with Lerman Senter PLLC, this document aims to provide descriptions of the various programs available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. Before deciding to take any action, consult your own legal and financial advisors. The PDF is here.
Get the latest information from the CDC about COVID-19 From National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC)
Details: An 18-minute video on guidance for the donning and doffing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 following the CDC guidelines: Standard, Contact, and Airborne Precautions.
How Journalists Can Deal With Trauma While Reporting on COVID-19 From Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN)
Details: “At GIJN we're gathering resources to help journalists working on the coronavirus crisis using investigative and data journalism techniques.”
A boatload of links for resources, initiatives, contracts, safety are here From A Culture of Safety Alliance (ACOS)
Photojournalists Publish Guidelines for Editors During COVID-19 Crisis By PetaPixel
Details: Photographers on the front lines of the public health crisis and some photojournalists are speaking out about inadequate resources and protection being given by editors and publications.This is an open letter to seek “an equitable industry and a set of baseline standards that will improve safety and ensure dignity for all journalists risking their health to document the current COVID-19 pandemic.”
Your legal rights: How to respond if police or health officials challenge coronavirus reporting From the Journalism Institute of the National Press Club
Details: NPPA’s general counsel Mickey Osterreicher participated in an email Q&A with the Journalism Institute.
NY Times guide for covering Covid-19 From the NYT
Details: Now public, this New York Times resource discusses general tips for health and safety as well as more reporting-specific guidance for those covering the crisis, including best practices for conducting interviews safely.
Settings to prevent “Zoom-bombing”, which is a thing… By UC Berkeley Information Security Office
Covering Coronavirus
The National Press Club Journalism Institute has introduced a new weekday newsletter to help journalists get the information they need to serve the public and stay safe.
Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard’s best practices guide to covering a pandemic
Details: Titled “Staying Safe, Staying In Business,” this list of tips and suggestions from the Nieman Foundation encompasses advice from newsroom managers, editors and other industry experts in the US and abroad about covering pandemics.
Dos and Don'ts COVID-19 Guide for Visual Journalists [The Everyday Projects]
How to clean your phone It’s one thing to stop touching your face. It’s another to stop touching the things that touch your face. [via NYT]
Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to “flatten the curve” [via WaPo]
What is COVID-19? And how can you protect yourself and your crews so they can effectively cover it? [PDF via NPPA]
Safety Advisory: Covering the coronavirus outbreak By Committee to Protect Journalists
Recorded Webinar: Potential Business Ramifications of Coronavirus Via ASMP
Self-Isolation Instructions By Ottawa Public Health
The Dos and Dont's of 'Social Distancing' By The Atlantic
How to Help By The New York Times
ASMP covid19 info hub By ASMP
Details: A well-organized roundup for links relating to resources for advocacy, business, legal and public health concerns, along with a letter from the ASMP executive director Thomas R. Kennedy.
Photoshelter hub By Photoshelter
Details: Similar to the ASMP “info hub” above, these pages contain roundups of numerous links that are photographer-specific as well as advice for working photographers navigating the crisis.
SPJ announcements, information and resources By Society of Professional Journalists
Attention Iowans: A story about unemployment possibly available for Iowans Via The Courier
Latest Coronavirus Resources for Newsrooms From Knight-Cronkite News Lab
Lenfest Institute resources for local newsrooms covering COVID-19 By Lenfest Institute
Details: In addition to the grant organized by a coalition with Facebook and the Local Media Foundation, the Lenfest Institute has also compiled a list of helpful links for the newsrooms themselves.
Press freedom and government transparency during COVID-19, via Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Coronavirus: Resources for reporters, via First Draft
Media ethics, safety and mental health: reporting in the time of Covid-19, via Ethical Journalism Network
Coronavirus Response Toolkit, via National Association of Broadcasters
Covering the Coronavirus Pandemic, via Student Press Law Center
Resources for Freelancers Navigating COVID-19, via Association of Independents in Radio
Editor Perspective: Self-Care Practices and Peer Support for the Newsroom From Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma
Note: this is from July 2014 but it is best practices for managing during traumatic events
Details: A Dart Center Tip Sheet for College Media Advisors, Editors and Student Journalists. As a college media advisor or editor, managing and mentoring your staff during traumatic news events is essential. Your reporters, photographers, videographers, designers, and other news staff may undergo traumatic stress during any news event whether they are at the scene or behind the desk. It’s important to have specific self-care practices in place to help your staff during these difficult moments.
How Journalists Can Deal With Trauma While Reporting on COVID-19 From Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN)
Details: “At GIJN we're gathering resources to help journalists working on the coronavirus crisis using investigative and data journalism techniques.”
COVID-19 mental health resources for journalists and you From The Carter Center
Details: ATLANTA — Carter Center mental health journalism fellows have been reporting on the mental health impact of COVID-19. You’ll find here their reporting, mental health resources for journalists covering the pandemic and for the general public impacted by the virus.
Eat well, focus on the positive, and other tips we've compiled to help you stay (mentally) healthy in these trying times. Downloadable PDF via NPPA
Nine ways journalists can push back against the stress of an always-on story By Poynter
Mental health tips and resources for journalists, From the International Journalists' Network
Mental health considerations during COVID-19 outbreak, via World Health Organization
Mental health experts offer counsel on staying calm during coronavirus pandemic, by Joel Achenbach, The Washington Post
Media ethics, safety and mental health: reporting in the time of Covid-19, via Ethical Journalism Network
How journalists can fight stress from covering the coronavirus, from Al Tompkins and Sidney Tompkins, Poynter
It's a great time to remember to breathe… do some yoga, stretch out your neck and shoulders from all that screen time, and learn how to meditate. All of these things help with stress and anxiety.
Gym closed? Here are some free or discounted workouts to do at home.
And, because we could all use a laugh right about now, McSweeney's has published A Guide to Social Distancing for Freelancers (aka CHANGE NEXT TO NOTHING). By McSweeney's
Prepared by Jeff Carlisle, with Lerman Senter PLLC, this document aims to provide descriptions
of the various programs available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security
(CARES) Act into law. Before deciding to take any action, consult your own legal and financial
advisors. The PDF is here.
Invitation to participate in CatchLight’s Behind the Lens series Via Catchlight
Details: While the CatchLight team, along with its many partners and funders, is urgently working on assessing how to best help support the visual storytelling field in the long term during these challenging times, we want to remind our community of the immediate opportunity to participate in CatchLight’s Behind the Lens series.
Freelancers Union: ways freelancers can claim paid sick leave From Freelancers Union Blog
Details: This guide contains details about IRS benefits available to self-employed workers who might not otherwise be qualified for the unemployment benefits as workers on a staff.
Experiencing Cancellations? Now Is the Time to Strengthen Your Photography Contracts Via FStoppers
Has your income fallen or been cut off? By The New York Times
Details: If your income has fallen or been cut off completely, we’re here to help. This guide will connect you to the basic information you’ll need to get through this, including on government benefits, free services and financial strategies.
Also see The New York Times resource page.
How Freelance Photographers Are Dealing with the Economic Effects of Coronavirus By PhotoShelter
Master List of COVID-19 Freelancer Artist Resources, including emergency funding By COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources
The Rauschenberg Foundation Is Launching Emergency Medical Grants for Artists Who Need Help Paying for Healthcare Via ArtNews
Another great List of Artist Resources By Creative Capital
List of Banks Offering Relief To Customers Affected By Coronavirus By Forbes
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources To Help Photographers Via All about photo.com
Details: While this is an arts-based collection aimed at artist freelancers weathering the crisis, this roundup contains nearly two dozen separate sources, some local and some global, that can help those who have lost work.
Major Disaster unemployment assistance from the federal government Via Benefits.gov
Details: The federal government has made the application available to employed or self-employed workers whose means of livelihood “must have been lost or interrupted as a direct result” of the disaster.
Disaster Unemployment Assistance Fact Sheet Via FEMA.gov
Specific disaster unemployment assistance may be available to you from FEMA if you aren’t eligible for your state’s unemployment insurance benefits. FEMA Disaster Unemployment Assistance is generally available to any unemployed worker or self-employed individual who lived, worked, or was scheduled to work in the disaster area at the time of the disaster; and due to the disaster:
· No longer has a job or a place to work; or
· Cannot reach the place of work; or
· Cannot work due to damage to the place of work; or
· Cannot work because of an injury caused by the disaster.
There is a 30 day deadline. More details here
Attention Iowans: A story about unemployment possibly available Via The Courier
Gig Workers Collective By Gigworkers Collective
Details: This is an exhaustive list of federal programs, trade association responses and other information relevant to freelancers and others active in the gig economy.
Women Photograph Emergency Fund By Women Photograph
Details: For the foreseeable future, all donations made to Women Photograph will go directly to an Emergency Fund for independent women and non-binary photographers who have been impacted by COVID-19.
A message to the IWMF community By International Women's Foundation
Details: A place to watch for evolving details for resources related to COVID-19.
Format $25,000 photographer support fund From Format
Details: Format is living up to and leaning into their mission of helping photographers “succeed and thrive” through a fund aimed at assisting those in the photography industry keep their heads above water amid COVID-19-related job losses.
Settings to prevent “Zoom-bombing”, which is a thing… By UC Berkeley Information Security Office
ONA tips for journalists working from home Via Online News Association
Details: Still on your beat but doing so from on your couch? This is a roundup of ideas for those of us homebound but on the job in the news biz.
Now Is the Perfect Time to Lower the Parenting Bar "you can do this. You just aren’t going to do it well. But that’s okay, none of us are." From The Cut
Details: For photojournalist parents working from home, this is a good guide to how to help manage the increasing demands on time, space and family needs.
How journalists can work from home securely, via Freedom of the Press Foundation
Program will distribute $250,000 in grants From New York Foundation for the Arts
Program will distribute grants, up to $2,500 apiece, to women-identifying visual artists over the age of 40 who have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Applicants must be visual artists identifying as women (who work in Digital/New Media, Drawing, Film/Video, Installation, Painting, Photography, Sculpture). A link to the application form will be available on Monday, April 6 at 10:00 AM EDT at this link.
Pulitzer Center Announces New Grant for Innovative Coronavirus Reporting Collaborations Via Pulitzer Center
Details: The newly announced Coronavirus News Collaboration Challenge grant aims to promote collaborative storytelling between newsrooms, independent journalists and news organizations covering COVID-19 stories. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis throughout 2020 and are not limited to any country, but will be limited to between three and five projects. Grant amounts will be between $5,000 and $30,000
$1 million in grants to support coronavirus coverage From Lenfest Institute
Details: Grants of up to $5,000 are being disbursed through the Facebook Journalism Project Community Network with support from the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and the Local Media Association, up to $1 million. Importantly, both news organizations AND freelance journalists with established relationships with news organizations are eligible. The grants, for which you can apply through the link below, will help resource-strapped newsrooms cover COVID-19 locally.
Deadline: Submission deadline: April 15th, 2020 at 11:59 EST, or when $1 million USD in grant funds has been awarded, whichever comes first.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources To Help Photographers Via All about photo.com
Details: While this is an arts-based collection aimed at artist freelancers weathering the crisis, this roundup contains nearly two dozen separate sources, some local and some global, that can help those who have lost work.
Extension to file copyright announced due to COVID-19 pandemic; NOTE: this does not apply to group registration of photographs. Via NPPA Advocacy
Your legal rights: How to respond if police or health officials challenge coronavirus reporting From the Journalism Institute of the National Press Club
Details: NPPA’s general counsel Mickey Osterreicher participated in an email Q&A with the Journalism Institute.
March 19, 2020 1:40pm (EST) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency, which includes “any essential business or entity providing essential services or functions shall not be subject to the in-person restrictions. This includes … news media ….” A downloadable PDF of the executive order is here.
Tips and information on how to ask public officials to clarify that newsgathering, publishing and broadcasting are “essential”
Story is here. This story has been updated March 19, 2020, 1:40pm (EST)
Copyright Office announces COVID_19-related changes for registration applicants NPPA story is here.
March 19, 2020 7:15pm (EST) - Miami Dade County entered a non-essential business closure order, effective later today. It exempts the press (paragraph 2(e)).
Details: With more and more municipal, state and federal restrictions being enacted, journalists covering south Florida can work with more flexibility knowing that they’re exempt from the non-essential business directive issued by emergency order.
The emergency order can be found here.
Press freedom and government transparency during COVID-19, via Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
How to Be an Artist: 33 rules to take you from clueless amateur to generational talent (or at least help you live life a little more creatively) By Vulture
Adobe to provide free 'At Home’ access to students and educators who currently use Creative Cloud apps Via News Shooter
There are some terrific resources online to help you stave off boredom and stoke the creativity, including the ones we all know and love like Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, Amazon Prime, HBOGo, etc...
But did you know if you have a library card at almost any public library in the US you can log into Kanopy (free Criterion films, indie flicks and some classics), watch the 25 most popular Ted Talks of all time, and take a virtual tour of 12 world class museums.
How to optimize images for the web By Maddy Osman, GoDaddy
