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Obama Administration Bans Press from Filming Oil Spill
Greg Kendall-Ball, Photographer, Assistant
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Abilene | TX | USA | Posted: 11:56 AM on 07.06.10 |
->> Saw this posted on a fellow photographer's website this morning. Distressing, to say the least. A $40,000 fine and 1-5 years in prison, for doing your job. It's almost like Rove and Cheney are still calling the shots in D.C.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpJBsjKhRTo&feature=player_embedded |
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Butch Miller, Photographer
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Lock Haven | PA | USA | Posted: 12:42 PM on 07.06.10 |
->> So much for "change you can believe in" .... this is proof positive that campaign rhetoric is meaningless for once candidates become elected officials, regardless of whether their name is followed by an (R) or (D) ... it's business as usual ....
Seems as though high ideals go out the window when it becomes convenient to do so ... with little regard to promises made .... this is the second major incident where "transparency" was promised .... yet not forthcoming from the current administration which is diametrically opposed to promises made during the campaign .... many had pledged their support to the current administration only to be snapped back to reality by such current events .... sad, really .... It seems many had hoped for more from the powers that be .... |
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Dan Megna, Photographer
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Coronado | CA | USA | Posted: 1:16 PM on 07.06.10 |
| ->> I'm just amazed folks are even surprised by this tact. You've gotta realize by now, "power" is threatening to this administration. |
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Nick Morris, Photographer
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 1:42 PM on 07.06.10 |
| ->> November is coming and I think we the media should push back by initiating a mandatory 65' barrier at ALL press releases and coverage. |
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Thomas E. Witte, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Cincinnati | OH | USA | Posted: 4:59 PM on 07.06.10 |
->> "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;...."
I'm curious how they are pulling this one off. |
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Thomas E. Witte, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Cincinnati | OH | USA | Posted: 5:01 PM on 07.06.10 |
| ->> Mmmm, never mind, my brain farted. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 5:45 PM on 07.06.10 |
->> This is going to be filed in the
"the more things change the more they stay the same category"
big government= tool of big oil |
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David Seelig, Photographer
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Hailey | ID | USA | Posted: 5:48 PM on 07.06.10 |
| ->> Here's to the new boss same as the old boss |
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Matthew Sauk, Photographer
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Sandy | UT | United States | Posted: 6:12 PM on 07.06.10 |
->> how sad...I feel like we are quickly headed towards a gov't run news agencies that control what you can and can't see (kinda already there to be honest).
We talk about freedom this and freedom that, but the last 9 years all we have seen is freedoms being taken away.
Sad |
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Michael Troutman, Photographer
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David Eulitt, Photographer
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Kansas City | MO | USA | Posted: 8:05 PM on 07.06.10 |
->> David Seelig, well put.
Sadly, not surprising at all. |
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Steve Ueckert, Photographer
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Houston | TX | | Posted: 8:19 PM on 07.06.10 |
| ->> Absolute power corrupts absolutely. |
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Michael Granse, Photographer
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Urbana | IL | USA | Posted: 9:08 PM on 07.06.10 |
| ->> We are heading toward a string of single term presidents who will cast blame on their predecessors while accomplishing very little. |
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John Germ, Photographer
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Wadsworth | Oh | USA | Posted: 10:09 PM on 07.06.10 |
| ->> It's not just big oil. Sadly, American politics is about money. Whether it's oil, phamacutical companies, lawyers, labor unions - whatever. Either party in power has their strings pulled by the people that pay 100s of millions of $$$ to put the people in office that will be most beneficial to their interests. Ideals are for the campaign trail - but it's still all about influence peddling. The best answer? High turnover and balance of power between the 3 branches. I'm really chortling over the people that applauded Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for simply not being George Bush. When tested, it seems Mr. Obama is really no better. |
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David Seelig, Photographer
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Hailey | ID | USA | Posted: 11:35 PM on 07.06.10 |
| ->> Obama should've turned the nobel prize down, that would've been the thing to do. I never applauded that. MY politics are far to the left of most people about the same as the Z man. But it really makes me want to upchuck when the Glen Becks of the world call this jerk a Marxist. |
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Daniel Putz, Photographer
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Owings Mills | MD | USA | Posted: 12:38 AM on 07.07.10 |
| ->> You mean there are TWO Glenn Becks? |
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Jeff Lewis, Photographer
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Long Beach | CA | USA | Posted: 1:33 AM on 07.07.10 |
->> There is too much coverage on it anyway. Let the workers work. I'm actually tired of seeing some worker being interviewed on TV when he should be cleaning up the mess.
Its the Coast Guard who put in the rule to stay 65 feet away. Thats 21 yards, 2 feet. Just enough distance to be equal to a QB throwing the ball to the endzone from the 10 yard line and you are in the back of the endzone. Just enough feet away to not get hit by machinery. Very close distance if you are on the next boat over and not get into an accident.
You guys are acting like this is the end of the world or something. They are doing a job and you are mad that we the media has to stay back and let them work. Next time I'm shooting a football game, I want to see how many of you are denied your huddle access and complain about it or the next time you run into a police station and demand to sit in the captains office and document him working, or run into a burning building to make sure the fireman has on his safety goggles.
If we stop complaining, maybe they might start working with us.
Jeff |
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Andy Bronson, Photographer
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Bellingham | WA | USA | Posted: 2:06 AM on 07.07.10 |
->> Jeff,
If this were simply media going where and when they want and just staying 65 feet away, this would not be a problem. It's obstacles just getting to the 65 ft that seem to be the problem. The First Amendment is not up for debate. It was settled a ways back by a Supreme Court Decision. You now have Coast Guard making rules that seem to go beyond safety and into the First Amendment realm. Interfering with booms and the like, I get. But newspapers and news-gathering organizations have a moral duty to go where the news is, even when it's not safe. And if it's on public lands. There's no reason to say no. And too much coverage? On a disaster of this magnitude. It's never enough. there are too many stories not yet told and still yet to be told. Better have too much to choose from than little or none? |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 8:18 AM on 07.07.10 |
| ->> Jeff, that is without a doubt the silliest analogy I have ever heard. Really? So you think if a bunch of BP workers are walking on a public beach and you get within 65 feet you it's okay for you to be charged with a class D felony. Really? Let me change the analogy you used a little. so you're standing in the corner of the end zone, the qb tosses a floater into the corner, receiver makes a spectacular diving catch with two defenders hanging on him. they're really close...you have to shoot it with your 16-35...you get the shot!! it's awesome.....oooops! the popo grab you and drag you away charging you with a class D felony and fine you $40,000. you were too close. does that make sense to you? if not then I suggest your "huddle" comment doesn't make a lot of sense either. this "rule" is in place for one reason, to limit media access to what is fast becoming an ecological, economic and HUGE embarrassment to the current administration. I don't know if you spent the time to watch the cooper interview but it sure is suspicious that two louisiana officials welcome the media to show what's going on and DO NOT agree with this rule. if this is a "reasonable" rule what's next? 100 feet, 100 yards, a mile? |
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G.J. McCarthy, Photographer
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Dallas | TX | US | Posted: 9:06 AM on 07.07.10 |
->> "If we stop complaining, maybe they might start working with us."
Jeff -- do you mind if I put that on our quote board at the paper? That may be the greatest thing I have ever read on this site. I mean ever.
If this whole photography thing doesn't work out for you, I think someone has a brilliant career ahead of themselves in motivational speaking, conflict resolution ... or stand up comedy. |
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George Bridges, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 10:03 AM on 07.07.10 |
->> Here is the big problem with the 65-foot rule. It's not a safety thing. Members of the media will tell you they don't want to cause an accident so they would not do anything to cause a crash with a worker, working boat etc.
But to tell the story you have to get close to the damaged areas and struggling wildlife.
Now, if the safety booms are set 60 feet from the shore and surround a small island that has oil-coated, dying animals on it -- Guess what? You CAN'T get to the island to make photos that tell the story of what is happening because you will violate the 65-foot rule and be arrested. A 400 and a convert just isn't going to do it. You need to be close.
So that means the real story of the impact of this spill does not get out. The only story that gets out is the one BP allows. And that is where the problem is.
The media is responsible for telling what is happening, not the version of events someone would prefer them to tell. Sometimes the truth is ugly and having it get out can mean "bad press" for a company or the government. In this case the "bad press" is simply the awful truth. But it's the truth and as a great quote carved into the main building of where I went to college said "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free"
We need to know the truth of what is happening so people can judge for themselves what the impact and meaning of it all is. Not what a private company damaging public lands wants us to believe. |
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Butch Miller, Photographer
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Lock Haven | PA | USA | Posted: 10:48 AM on 07.07.10 |
->> I understand the Coast Guard's safety concern ... I wouldn't have a problem with keeping back 65' or more from another craft skimming oil off the water or working a boom ... just as I would follow the rules at a football game or cross a police barricade at a fire scene ... known restrictions that have been dealt with for quite some time ...
but to enforce the same distance restriction on shore of a oil soaked sea gull? .... just doesn't make sense .... it smells of unwarranted control ... or an attempt to quash unflattering stories from reaching print or the airways ...
sure there may be more coverage on this event than some may want to absorb ... but ask the people that live and work in the Gulf states if they think too much is being done ... I'm quite sure, in their eyes, this catastrophe can't be covered enough ...
Sadly, any restriction on any news coverage that prohibits or intimidates those whose job it is to gather the news should not be tolerated ... for if those creating the restrictions can keep the sights, sounds and actions of all involved from being witnessed by the public can create an atmosphere of out-of-sight ... out-of-mind .... something that can't help solve or recover from situation as we are facing in the Gulf currently. |
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George Bridges, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 11:18 AM on 07.07.10 |
->> So this suggestion/question was sent to me.
Since the restrictions are listed as for safety: what if members of the media were hazmat certified? Could they then gain closer access because they have certification and have the proper safety gear to be in hazmat areas? |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 11:45 AM on 07.07.10 |
->> George, if you took the course then BP would have their puppet (aka) Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen (who by the way replaced the former puppet) with someone else who will be their lap dog. BP should have NO, NONE, NADA say in who covers or what news comes out of this. They should have NO rights. As you said this is all spin control by a PRIVATE company who has caused a disaster that, unlike a hurricane, will probably effect the entire Gulf Coast for DECADES.
I've siad it once, I'll say it again. Screw BP and what THEY want. |
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Jim Colburn, Photo Editor, Photographer
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McAllen | TX | USA | Posted: 12:20 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> "Here's to the new boss same as the old boss"
Except for the whole starting-wars/torturing-prisoners/letting-federal-regulatory-agencies-go-to-hell thing you mean.
Gee whiz, just think how things would be if, during the previous administration, someone had actually been keeping an eye on the oil industry? There might not even be a leak! |
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Jeff Lewis, Photographer
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Long Beach | CA | USA | Posted: 12:28 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> Chuck, I agree with you that BP should have absolutely no say in who covers this disaster. I also think We should fine the hell out of BP, close to the sum of a billion dollars, and if oil companies fail to keep their equipment up to par, they should be forced to shut down until they fix the problem.... We really should be kicking BP out of the Gulf but that would create a huge international problem. Same thing with the coal mining industry.
As far as keeping 65 feet away, I am still standing behind what I said. How many members of the media are hazmat certified? How many times have I seen a worker interviewed or ignore a reporter because he has a job to do? I'm not saying if an oily seagull flies and lands in front of you, don't shoot it, you should and I would and sue the government for my first amendment rights if I was prosecuted but when it really comes down to it, this is actually a "safety" thing and a "please let them work" thing. I feel really bad for the people of the gulf region and hope this can be cleaned up soon. BP should be removed and fined from even cleaning up the disaster. From what I'm getting from all of this media coverage is that BP is trying to collect the oil on a boat and use it. They don't seem like they are plugging the leak but trying to control it to collect it and that is wrong because that is not working, greedy bastards.
G.J., What I said was truth. Stop complaining and trying to work it out really works. It works with marriages, three year olds, professional teams, people at work, everybody. Nobody likes a complainer. Nobody wants to work with somebody that always has something negative to say. Thats probably one of the reasons for the rule. Yes, that goes against any first amendment rights we have but if for several months, I was trying to clean this up and all I was hearing from the media is how negative this is, I might put a rule in to back them up as well.
Also, this might get me some "Huh's" but stop "Monday Morning Quarterbacking the President!" He knows what he is doing. He is probably our most educated President and the first who actually went to college and took courses on a direct path to become President. Please don't say Bush was smarter than him. Please. Either of them. When Bush was in office, I said kind of the same thing. Let the guy do his job and stop criticizing him. He is privy to much more information than we are to make his decisions. He also has to make decisions for everybody and not just for each of our individual situations.
Jeff |
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Blaine McCartney, Photographer
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Sheridan | WY | USA | Posted: 12:38 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> "He knows what he is doing."
Planning his next golf outing is what he is doing. |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 1:11 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> Jeff-
None of this is a "safety" or a "please let them work" thing. It's well documented that they are not allowed to talk to the press, under penalty of losing their jobs.
As for the comment to G.J. - If one person if spraying crude oil all over the other person, then saying "I'm doing a good job cleaning it up! It's not that bad!"... They are using napkins folded around a fork to clean them up the mess while spraying more. Oh and the other person is in the process of croaking. And then some third party steps in and says "STOP IT! You need to stop spraying crap on them and clean it up the right way and stop trying to tell everyone it's not a big deal!"... Yes, the third person obviously needs to shut up and stand 65 feet away, so that you will not have to hear it anymore. Screw the second person, and fine the first person (and this is about the amount you quoted) about 0.33% of their yearly profits.
A seagull covered in oil can't fly, sherlock. The only way to get a photo of it is to go past the booms and into the 6-inch layer of muck the seagull is dying in. |
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Larry W. Smith, Photographer
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Valley Center (Wichita) | KS | USA | Posted: 2:05 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> I rarely get in on these type of threads but going to this time. Just want to say unless you've been to the gulf covering this you really don't have any idea or should be saying anything about how things are going.
Most of the most dramatic images or video from this event have been found by the photographers themselves and if they would have stayed 65 feet back they would not have found those, the first main oil making landfall, most of the worst of any birds and more there wasn't a cleanup crew there working or even had been there working. It was photographed or video and published the next day go back and there would be a crew cleaning or the area would be clean and the area would be off limits to media. Now if they was doing the best job they could it wouldn't be media finding the worst cases down there and if it wasn't for the media finding these how long would it have taken to be discovered.
This isn't about safety its about control, if no media would have showed up in New Orleans after Katrina how long would it have taken for a major response and if no media would have showed up for this oil spill how long would it have taken or is going to take? If it wasn't for the media showing the world and our great nation what goes on the people would only get to see what our government wanted them to see and I don't think it would have been body's laying on streets in New Orleans or birds covered in heavy oil. The people of this nation are the Checks and Balance system for our government and if they don't know what is really happening then both the people and the government won't be doing their jobs.
There are other country's with government controlled media, and I don't think I want to live in a country like that. So lets forget about the talk of safety because most of us realize that is not the case here.
Just my thoughts. |
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Bryan Hulse, Photographer
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Nashville | Tn | USA | Posted: 2:05 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> Ah, I love these finger pointing threads. Now it’s my turn:
Bush – Dumb
Obama – Dumber
Media censorship - Dangerous |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 2:15 PM on 07.07.10 |
| ->> The name calling is silly. This sounds like the comments on our (paper's) website. except some folks aren't worried about wearing their political patches on their shoulders. Larry nailed this square on the head. IF BP was doing their job and cleaning this mess up we would be allowed to have a camera up some pelican's ass. They aren't. The government is concerned about the image problems, hence now we have in effect a "no fly zone" for shooting photos.and this if you remember was the same thing that happened early on when BP didn't want any aerial photography. sorry, but the more people bitch the faster this violation of the first amendment will go away. "hoping" being nice will not. sorry jeff but sometimes the squeaky wheel DOES get the grease. |
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Gary Cosby, Jr, Photographer
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Decatur | AL | USA | Posted: 2:37 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> It really doesn't matter what political party is in power it is the power thing that matters to them. They rely on media to look good and try and restrict media when they could look bad. I have said that apart from a very few issues you could shake up all the politicians and dump them out and they would all fall at the same rate. Forget the labels, they are all politicians.
The heart of the matter for us, even those of us who are not presently covering the event, is the idea that the government can deposit the first amendment into the trash bin at their convenience. And really, that is a much larger issue than the gulf oil spill because it not only erodes freedom it yanks it away in one movement. The public have no idea how important an unrestricted media is to their freedom. |
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Yamil Sued, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Peoria | AZ | USA | Posted: 2:53 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> Larry said:
"Just want to say unless you've been to the gulf covering this you really don't have any idea or should be saying anything about how things are going. "
BINGO!!!!
Just what he said!! |
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Allen Murabayashi, Photographer
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Scott A. Schneider, Photographer
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Minneapolis | MN | USA | Posted: 3:17 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> Carlos Santana was in Minneapolis last week and made some political comments about Obama between songs:
If he doesn't deliver, Santana said, "he's been just like [George W.] Bush with a tan." (Santana voted for Obama.) |
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Brian Blanco, Photographer
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Tampa / Sarasota | FL | USA | Posted: 3:32 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> Larry,
First of all, your coverage of the spill for the European Pressphoto Agency was outstanding.
Second, your post nailed it 100%. You're right, it's not about safety, it's about control.
I'm not sure how this devolved into a political thread with other posters feeling it's appropriate to use a "professional" message board to call presidents names. I would hope a group of "professionals" would be able to discuss and take issue with a policy without resorting to personal character attacks on the president (past and present administrations).
But here's the way I see it:
I'm a professional photojournalist. As a photojournalist it's my responsibility to cover the story. If I have to step over an oil-soaked boom on a deserted beach to get the story and get it right, then that's exactly what I'm going to do. BP's security contractors, the Coast Guard and Federal and local law enforcement will just have to do whatever it is they feel their duty compels them to do, but I'm going to do my job. Period.
As a rule I don't allow myself to be "handled" while working a news story and this 65' rule is just an attempt to handle us. If the NPAA can persuade the administration to change the rule then that's great, but it wont affect the way I cover the story. |
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Dan Megna, Photographer
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Coronado | CA | USA | Posted: 5:06 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> I'm sorry... I normally don't wade back into these sorts of frays unless I feel like I can contribute something of note. But I can't ignore the partisan inappropriateness of Mr Colburn's comment; "Gee whiz, just think how things would be if, during the previous administration, someone had actually been keeping an eye on the oil industry? There might not even be a leak!" I guess I could stoop to his level and point out the "previous administration" had been out of office for something like fifteen months when this incident occurred. But I think sticking to the facts might provide a better, more honest understanding of what actually happened.
This was an industrial accident... PERIOD! NO amount of government oversight was gonna prevent it. This occurred because poorly calculated shortcuts were taken to make a deadline imposed by BP. The drilling company gambled the odds and blew it BIG time.
NO government agency or administration, with their misguided book of silly regulations, is EVER gonna stop a job foreman or supervisor from taking shortcuts when millions of dollars are driving a project and tremendous pressure exists to complete a project ahead of schedule and/or under budget. It happens ALL the time in industry, construction..... We only hear about it when things go wrong. Because when things go right, everyone wins and the contractors and politicians pat themselves on the back for managing a successful project. Nobody's the wiser...
Unfortunately, in this case, things went horribly wrong. BP and their contracted drilling company solely own this spill. If someone can dispute that with substantiated facts, I'd love to hear it. But the Feds own the stonewalling of media coverage. For any number of reasons, Obama & Company has chosen to actively support BP's desire to hide what is really going on from the public.
Hey, isn't that what they did during the health care debate, too? |
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G.J. McCarthy, Photographer
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Dallas | TX | US | Posted: 11:03 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> "->> the NPPA's response:"
Was it to fly Ann Curry down there to talk about empathy? That'll do the trick ... |
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Jim Colburn, Photo Editor, Photographer
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McAllen | TX | USA | Posted: 11:27 PM on 07.07.10 |
->> "NO amount of government oversight was gonna prevent it."
There are many that would disagree with you. |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 12:14 AM on 07.08.10 |
->> What Gary Crosby said is on target. Money has totally corrupted the system and it no longer matters what the party is.
I know a field coordinator for a Congressman whose district borders my representative (mine's a TOTAL idiot). The field agent reports that burn out is a serious problem - that it is getting tougher and tougher to get anything of value done in Congress. This meshes with comments from other people elected who want the hell out of Congress. Until they restrict campaign contributions (aka bribes), we're screwed.
My daughter, who is a Phd Candidate in Poly Science predicted that Obama was great at giving a speech but.... and I'm afraid she's right. There is no reasonable reason for this other than covering BP's a$$. It's all about money. The government will be sued, but by the time the issue is decided, it will be over.
Classic DC move, sports fans. |
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John Germ, Photographer
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Wadsworth | Oh | USA | Posted: 9:09 AM on 07.08.10 |
| ->> There are some good comments here about the situation and they're an interesting read. Unfortunately, Mr. Colburn's posts typify one of the major problems with spin minded 'rightist' or 'leftist' media. His comments would be a source of amusement if they were made at a bar. Unfortunately, they represent the worst type of media spin - where anything bad that happens is somehow tied to the opposing party and anything good is credited to the party/officials that represent that media person's viewpoint. It's an unfortunate bias that is all too evident in many media outlets today. Now, fortunately Mr. Colburn is so over-the-top it's easy to not take posts like his too seriously. Much in the same way it's easy to ignore Rush and his rantings. It's bad enough when the people the media is covering have their own agenda - where are we when the media members themselves are constantly spinning stories to fit THEIR political agenda? |
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Mike Carlson, Photographer
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Bayonet Point | FL | USA | Posted: 10:15 AM on 07.08.10 |
->> I'll also chime in with my two cents in agreement with Larry, Brian and others who mention more concern about control than necessarily safety.
In my short time in the area (mostly around the Alabama/Florida border area) I experienced the 'control' end more often than the safety end. I approached, on a couple of occasions, the staging areas for the BP cleanup crews before they headed out for the day (in parking lots for public beaches) in an attempt to document the process, and was not only denied access, but escorted back to my car one time by a local law enforcement officer (who, to his credit, did so reluctantly and with some editorial comments of his own about the situation). Again, this was without my cameras in hand, but simply going up to ask about the possibility.
On the beaches there were hundreds of cleanup workers who were, as mentioned, forbidden to talk to any media (I was told this is actually part of their initial training). My first attempt to even engage in casual conversation when they took a break and get names for a caption quickly resulted in a visit from the foreman of the crew instructing me that, not only was I not allowed to talk with them, but that it was requested that I not shoot any pictures of them while they were resting under their tents because it "gave the public the wrong idea".
That being said, there were others from the area who were more than happy to help with access. I actually got out onto the water by wading in waist deep water and climbing aboard a police boat that pulled up and offered to take me out to see what the situation looked like offshore. We skirted near booms and went near vessels of opportunity without incident or jeopardizing anyone's 'safety'.
I grant that, just like ANY newsworthy situation, journalists can get in the way, but to make the blanket statement that it's all about safety is somewhat inconceivable. |
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Butch Miller, Photographer
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Lock Haven | PA | USA | Posted: 10:30 AM on 07.08.10 |
->> "There are many that would disagree with you."
Unfortunately your position is based upon opinion and not fact ... governments at all levels from the smallest boroughs and townships ... all the way to the Feds try to "regulate" many aspects of business and our daily lives and yet with all these regulations, restrictions and laws, there are infractions each and every day ... I am in no way defending BP or anyone involved ... accidents can and do happen regardless of how much oversight is in play or which political party is in charge of said oversight .... |
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Will Powers, Photographer
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Denver | CO | USA | Posted: 12:00 PM on 07.08.10 |
->> In Jim Colburn's defense, The Minerals Management Service (MMS) was accepting bribes from energy companies in the form of sex and other methods. In defense of the Obama Administration, many of those people were fired after the discovery. That doesn't change the permits that were issued.
Here is a Sept. 11, 2008 article on MMS
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2008/09/sleaze_sex_cocaineand_oh_yeah.... |
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Sean D. Elliot, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Norwich | CT | USA | Posted: 12:09 PM on 07.08.10 |
->> how 'bout we drop the political fighting and go back to the issue at hand ... freedom of the press and what's going to be done about it.
The NPPA's letter is a start. A concerted effort by journalists to document how these restrictions violate the first amendment and put that out there.
We can complain all we want right here, but until the people who vote care about how the government is trying to keep them from being informed, we're going to keep seeing these restrictions. |
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Jeff Lewis, Photographer
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Long Beach | CA | USA | Posted: 1:32 PM on 07.08.10 |
->> ... I'm still trying to figure out why my post from yesterday was inappropriate. What did I say in there that made somebody feel bad? This is part of the problem here. I have my opinions, you guys have yours, everybody has their own. We need to stop putting eachother down and listen to eachother. I read each and every post here and made my points accordingly and unless you work for BP, you should not feel like I disrespected you.
I feel that we need to stop second guessing the current administration but at the same time, preserve our right to a free press. We are so quick to criticize and push our own point of view that we lose focus of what the real problem is and lose faith in the elected officials hired to fix it.
The NPPA letter is a very good start. It states exactly what we want to say and in a way where our voices can be heard. I still don't think we should be allowed to speak to clean-up workers while they are working. That just looks bad to the millions on TV. We should be able to photograph animals, oil, messiness, etc., but don't stop them from working.
Jeff |
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Ian L. Sitren, Photographer
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Palm Springs | CA | USA | Posted: 1:55 PM on 07.08.10 |
->> Jeff is a good guy and gave an opinion here. Others of you are good guys and gave an opinion too. However there have been a number of personal and implied personal attacks on each other in this thread. It is the type of thing that I would expect to see on some of those other forums but not here.
Some time back, with some wisdom, it was decided that not everyone would be a SportsShooter member. And as such we have all worked to be a cut above, more trusting and more respectful of each other. So in other forums where these attacks go on, and in other circles, SportsShooter is given some level of respect.
I have made my mistakes in posting in the past. But now I am much more circumspect about what I type and when I type it. I always remember that I respect you guys for what you do and that you are good people too. I always try to remember that we are talking about photography here and focus in on that. I do not let my politics, religion or anything else interfere with making what I hope are rational responses to issues but with always "photography" as the first order of discussion.
So I hope in these last few posts that we can agree that there is indeed issue with access and that it is good that NPPA has taken a stand for all of us. And I also hope that we can all direct our efforts to be constructive about the same thing.
Send your letters and e-mail to your elected representatives, BP and anyone else. If you are angry with them and the access, express it. I am and I will.
I hold the power of photojournalism as absolute. And regardless of what genre we shoot, we are all here together and all concerned about the same things. |
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Mike Brice, Photographer
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SLC | UT | USA | Posted: 2:46 PM on 07.08.10 |
->> The July 6 Wall Street Journal has a great front page article about how Obama was not going to let the offshore drilling proceed under the rules set by the previous administration, but after some lobbying and the fact that the government would lose $10 billion in royalities, he changed his mind and allowed the Horizon well and thousands of others.
So lets stop blaming this on the previous administration. He had an opportunity to prevent this, but decided to go along to get along.
The headline for those that want to search the article:
Obama decried, then used, some Bush drilling policies. |
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Mark Loundy, Photo Editor
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San Jose | CA | USA | Posted: 4:04 PM on 07.08.10 |
->> Jeff,
You've gotta stop sweating the little do-hickies at the bottom of the messages. Just let it go.
--Mark |
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