Santana: Politicians in Santa Ana Don’t Want Residents To See Them Up Close
Khai Le
“Santa Ana city officials are targeting photojournalists during public city council meetings, insisting they work out of a remote corner of the hearing chambers or take photos from seats in the audience.
Photojournalists are now also restricted from moving around the council chamber aisles to get images of official deliberations and public comment.
This new media policy was just rolled out one day by city staff under the thumb of a mayor that doesn’t like media coverage without any public discussion by city council members, much less any effort to consult with members of the press corps before adopting such ridiculous restrictions. ”
““Most people think we just take photos,” said Thomas Cordova, President of the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles and a photo editor at the Long Beach Post.
“They don’t understand we are photojournalists, we tell stories when we make our photos,” Cordova added.
“Penning photographers,” Cordova stressed, is a form of prior restraint, in essence a blanket approach that blames everyone for the abuses of a few.
“As long as photographers are professional and unobtrusive,” he added, “there should be no problem allowing them to do the work they are there for.” ”
Read the full article here - https://voiceofoc.org/2024/08/santana-fighting-off-a-press-pen-in-santa-ana/