White House photographers mutiny over Obama's 'Soviet-style' controls

http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/nov/22/obama-administration-news-photography

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A mutiny has erupted among photographers who cover the White House over its increasing practice of excluding them from events involving President Barack Obama and then releasing its own photos or video.

The White House Correspondents' Association and 37 news organisations have sent a letter to the administration's press secretary, Jay Carney, protesting at restrictions on photographers.

They accuse the White House of instituting its own Soviet-style news service. The letter states:

"As surely as if they were placing a hand over a journalist's camera lens, officials in this administration are blocking the public from having an independent view of important functions of the executive branch of government."

According to the letter, the White House has deemed certain events with the president as private, excluding photographers. But then it admits its own photographers and videographers who release material to the public.

"You are, in effect, replacing independent photojournalism with visual press releases," says the letter. "The right of journalists to gather the news is most critical when covering government officials acting in their official capacities."

It added, "To exclude the press from these functions is a major break from how previous administrations have worked with the press."

The Obama administration has embraced social media as a way to get its message to the public beyond the traditional news media. Senior officials post tweets and blog items, while the chief White House photographer posts photos of the president on Facebook, Flickr, and Instagram.

The White House argues that it is not logistically feasible to give photographers access to every event.

Politico's Dylan Byers reports that, following the sending of the letter, two key media organisations - the Associated Press Media Editors and the American Society of Newspaper Editors - called on members to stop publishing photos and videos provided by the White House.

It said: "We urge those of you in news organisations to immediately refrain from publishing any of the photographs or videos released by the White House, just as you would refuse to run verbatim a press release from them."

<em>Sources:</em> Washington Post/NDTV/Politico

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