Bloggers Now (Almost) Eligible for Press Passes

After a long saga and multiple lawsuits, City Hall has officially proposed new rules for issuing press passes to members of the NYC media, even those whose work appears only on the Internet. According to the NYC Law Department, the rules would be implemented to help the Police Department "modernize the City’s credentialing system to reflect changes to the media industry and, for the first time, expressly incorporate online-only media such as blogs." Gothamist has tried to obtain press passes for almost six years; besides allowing journalists to report during emergencies, the credentials greatly facilitate attending non-emergency events like mayoral press conferences.

The rules have been revised in response to a lawsuit brought by Norman Siegel on behalf of three online-journalists that had their applications for press passes denied. Some reporters have criticized the NYPD's vague process of determining who gets press passes, and one former Newsday reporter filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming that his rejection was "strictly retaliatory," because of his past reportage on NYPD issues.

"The new rules will enable journalists to gather and report news in a more successful manner than before," said Norman Siegel, one of the attorneys in the lawsuit. "Online journalists will now be considered as 21st century journalists and be treated equally to print, television and radio journalists." So next time there's a rat stuck in the sidewalk, or exploding manholes, or a mysterious maple syrup odor, we hope to march right past the police barricades to bring your first-hand reportage. Below, peruse the new rules, copied and pasted with that signature blogger finesse which the MSM can only dream of replicating:

Under the proposed new rules published today, to obtain a press credential, an applicant must show that he or she has covered, in person, six news events where the City has restricted access, within the two-year period preceding the application. In addition to employees of traditional news gathering organizations, the new rules cover self-employed newspersons and other individuals who gather and report the news. The new press card will be issued every two years.
A press card allows its bearer, with the approval of police, to cross certain barriers established by the City at news events. Many non-City entities also rely on the City press card to distinguish who is a member of the media.

The proposed rules continue the issuance of “reserve cards” that allow news organizations to credential a reporter for a specific assignment. The proposal also provides for the continuation of the issuance of a “single event press card” which will be available to journalists who have pre-registered and need the credentials to cover a single event. The reserve card and the single event card eliminate the “chicken or the egg” problem that exists for a prospective press card applicant who has not yet covered, in person, six news events.

The proposed rules allow for the creation of a press card, reserve card, and single event card, eliminating the “Press Identification Card.”

The proposed rules establish timeframes for granting or denying press card applications, and also for hearings and appeals concerning the denial of an application.

A public comment period on the proposed new rules begins today and extends through April 7, 2010. On that day, a hearing on the rules, open to the public, will be held at Police Headquarters in Lower Manhattan.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on March 2, 2010 1:43 PM

Comments [rss]

Kelles

does the blogger press pass allow for an eclectic group of anonymous people to accompany said reporter to make glib comments?

gawzmta

Great, can't wait to get your first-hand report from the front lines of the latest firenado, or maybe some horrific caraccidentisaster, or even something as banal as a mayoral pressconferenceocaust.

Wow, even I can do this. Yawn.

swoop

See what I mean?

Even still on top of the three published pieces within 6 months you need a letter from the editor or publisher on company letterhead stating you have a need for the card to perform newsgathering.

If you're freelance, you need it from TWO different news/media organizations.

NannyState

Funny, if you work for The Post, all you need is a willing mouth.

swoop

"we hope to march right past the police barricades to bring your first-hand reportage."

Yeah right. the NYPD still restricts members of the press in emergency scenes fires and homicides. I once had a cop deny me access to a public street at 3AM to cover a huge fire. It's BS. The credentials do allow access to political events. But most of the time they make no difference when covering emergencies other than if you do get hassled by a cop you have proof in court that you had every right to be there. Even though it says on the card "Is ENTITLED to cross police and fire lines when formed" Now when given permission.

The current rules aren't so bad. You just need three published stories for reporters, or photos for photographers within six months. And that's pretty easy to get if it's your day job. I think the blogs will probably make a mess of it as every person with a 5D who stumbles across a fire or car accident and has a wordpress account will apply for one. That's going to be a lot of people in the way not knowing what they're doing. Having it last two years is cool. It's one less thing to worry about. This year all the press cards that expire in January were extended to July. Some say it has to do with the city not having money to print new cards. Another told me it's because the new fire commissioner's signature needs to be digitized to place on it. I think it has to do with this lawsuit.

NannyState

Get out there and cover that tanker explosion...and I wanna see some pretty pictures!

ennuipoet

So, what this is saying is that if my photos run on Gothamist just a few more times I am eligible for a press pass? Hot damn!

jaycjay

"an applicant must show that he or she has covered, in person, six news events where the City has restricted access"

That sucks. So you guys have to start going out and covering stories now, so you can get press passes. But at least after all the hassle of actually going to six events, you can go back to the cut-and-paste thing, and will be able to do it while wearing press passes... that'll be cool!

ThisCharmingMan

In 1999 I obtained an official NYPD/DCPI Press card under the guise of working for a super tiny graffiti magazine! Total BS.

JacqueMehoff

this is what you guys wanted.

don't get soft, the more info we get the better for all of us. see newsday reporter who lost the pass because he printed something the NYPD didn't like.

Greenpoint60

Bloomberg should be online answering your questions, the mainstream media to learn to use a computer. The old style news confrence should be phased out along with print newspapers.

silver

A grainy 2 minute webcam vid doesn't have the same kick as a charismatic leader shouting at a podium.

Greenpoint60

The world is changing, the New York Times is on its death bed

Outter Burrougher

you think we should phase out all human interaction as well?

there are benefits to in person news conferences that text and video sessions can never replace.