The Rights to Access and Privacy

Paper Summary:

This article reflects the legal limitations faced by photojournalists in their work. The writer maintains that the area of law which applies to photojournalists is quite complex and constantly changes in order to meet the changing needs of society. The writer notes that as a general guide, the most common of these legal restrictions can be divided into five categories: access, privacy, libel, procedure and copyright. However, a photojournalist's ability to take newsworthy photographs most specifically depends on the limitations in the rights to access and to privacy. The writer discusses the law on this matter and the paper mentions different cases regarding photographs in journalism.

Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Right to Access
Part II: Right to Privacy
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"However, like Gabriel Tait, photojournalists, despite any status as members of the press, can be arrested if they are believed to be interfering with an emergency or a government operation. Courts have long since established that journalists have limited access to certain areas, which can generally be divided into the two categories of public and private property.
Public property such as public schools, fire departments, and post offices are under the control of government agencies. Photography in areas such as these is prohibited unless permission is expressly granted to the photojournalist. In courtrooms, however, while under government authority, the limitations on press coverage of court proceedings is varied from state to state. The choice was given to each individual state's higher court to "promulgate standards and guidelines regulating radio, television, and other photographic coverage of court proceedings" in 1982 by the American Bar Association."

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