Video: Photographer arrest at house fire — Who is the news media today?

The video, above, from 911 Media Group was taken at a house fire yesterday (Saturday) in National City, California (San Diego County). Starting at 5:32 in the video, you will see police dealing with a man shooting pictures on the fireground. Based on the information with the video, it appears the man does not follow police direction to move back. He was taken away in handcuffs. At least one other photographer is closer (the person from 911 Media Group taking this video). Here’s part of the description with the video:

A man claiming to be media was arrested by Police for not leaving the emergency scene. He claimed he was media, but had no ID (CA DL or CA ID), and No credentials. He refused 2 request by PD and 1 by Fire to. go across the street to take pictures/video. On the 3rd time, he was arrested.

Don’t, for a moment, think I’m judging the police officers in this video. There’s not enough information to form a clear opinion. But the video is important. It’s a reminder that you need to have policies that make sense in an era where everyone has a camera.

There are some interesting and important questions that you need  to consider. These include:

• Who is the news media these days?
• How do you determine who can be on your fireground shooting pictures?
• What impact does all of this have on scene security?
• Do you issue press credentials and who is allowed to get those credentials?
• Will your policy hold up under legal scrutiny?

In 2011 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit made it clear First Amendment protection does not require professional credentials or status. In Glik v. Cunniffe, the court pointed out technology allows each of us to be a member of “the press.” (BTW, please don’t take any legal advice from me. I barely graduated high school. My friend Curt Varone does a good job of giving advice on these issues at FireLawBlog.com.)

Moreover, changes in technology and society have made the lines between private citizen and journalist exceedingly difficult to draw. The proliferation of electronic devices with video-recording capability means that many of our images of current events come from bystanders with a ready cell phone or digital camera rather than a traditional film crew, and news stories are now just as likely to be broken by a blogger at her computer as a reporter at a major newspaper. Such developments make clear why the news-gathering protections of the First Amendment cannot turn on professional credentials or status.

When I was a TV reporter, I never expected special access to a scene, but was always grateful when I got it. I also fought any attempt to give the news media lesser status. More than one police official heard an earful from me when we weren’t given access to areas the public was allowed.

Now, with all your neighbors armed with cameras, Facebook. Periscope, Instagram and Twitter, how do you plan to answer them when they demand the same access to your scenes and press conferences as the traditional news media?