A national wrap up of all the attempts at squashing the press lately..
It is an artist’s prerogative as to whether or not they will allow photography of their performances. A photo ban is one thing but it appears that Beyoncé wishes to have her cake and eat it too. She still wants photographic coverage but only wants to release images of her own choosing. The NPPA believes that this is improper and we have said so in our letter to her publicist.
We also believe that once it becomes apparent that news organizations are willing to accept this type of policy and use handout photos it will only encourage others to follow suit. The danger in this type of “infotainment” is that the public will be denied the information and images that come from independent news gathering and the media will be relegated to being nothing more than aggregators of sanitized material provided by public relations firms and press secretaries. This point is best illustrated in a joint protest by the NPPA and the White House News Photographers (WHNPA) Association regarding the photo manipulation of an official photograph made available for distribution by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office.
via Photography & the Law – Beyonce’ and Beyond: A Roundup of Recent Legal Issues – JPG News.
