By Alicia Calzada
The right to record police in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi is now a clearly established First Amendment right after an opinion was issued on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The case arose from an incident in Ft. Worth in which a man, Phillip Turner, was videotaping a police station from a public sidewalk, across the street from the station.
Photojournalist Mannie Garcia has won a $45,000 settlement in a civil rights lawsuit resulting from his unlawful arrest by Montgomery County police in Maryland in 2011.
As part of a coalition of visual artists the NPPA filed comments today in response to the House Judiciary Committee’s first policy proposal from its multi-year review of the U.S. Copyright law, entitled “Reform of the U.S. Copyright Office.” Those comments consist of two parts.
The innovative program, in partnership with Google News Lab, features workshops with The Poynter Institute, The Drone Journalism Lab at the University of Nebraska and DJI.
Athens, Ga. (Jan. 30, 2017) – The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), the Poynter Institute, Google News Lab, Drone Journalism Lab, and DJI have unveiled an innovative program to train journalists in using drones, or unmanned aerial systems (UAS), for their news coverage. The program, which features hands-on workshops and online teaching, is powered by the Google News Lab.
January 16, 2017 – Washington, D.C. – The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) joined with more than 50 journalists, lawyers, media rights advocates, and First Amendment stakeholders who came together last week with a common interest in protecting freedom of the press and securing rights granted by the First Amendment.
Update 1/17/17: Photographers who had their claims against the NFL and AP dismissed last month filed a motion on January 9, 2017 asking the federal judge in the case to amend his judgment and grant an appeal on some of their claims, arguing that they are separable from those now scheduled for arbitration.
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) commends Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Lamar Smith (R-TX) for introducing H.R. 6496, a bill “to establish a small claims system within the Copyright Office.” The legislation is designed to support individual creators and small business owners who seek the enforcement of the copyright of their works. Because copyright claims must be brought in federal court, such litigation is often far too costly for most individual creators resulting in photographers having rights without remedies.
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) commends House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) on their announced proposal for reform of the U.S. Copyright Office.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation has drafted an open letter to major camera manufacturers—like Sony, Canon, and Nikon—asking them to build encryption into their camera products to protect the safety and security of journalists and filmmakers, their subjects, and their sources. Countless filmmakers and photojournalists have had their camera equipment seized by governments or criminals in recent years, and right now, no camera manufacturer includes encryption on their devices so the owners can protect footage from the prying eyes of those who steal it.
