1. Forum
  2. General Discussion | Introductions | Off Topic Forum
  3. Photography General Discussion
  4. Journalists Banned from Cell Phone Photography at Olympics

Journalists Banned from Cell Phone Photography at Olympics


10 years 5 months ago #307391 by StephanieW
I thought this story was kind of interesting: techcrunch.com/2013/11/11/journalists-re...-olympics-in-russia/

"Any journalist who snaps Sepia Instagrams of their brunch at the Sochi Olympics will promptly lose their accreditation for the games. “Journalists using mobile phones to film athletes or spectators will be considered a serious violation and will result in cancellation of accreditation,” reported Vasily Konov, head of the Russian state-run R-Sports news outlet."

When London got ban happy about things it was because of copyright, but who knows why it's being banned at Sochi. It's interesting that it's only journalists who are banned, though. It's also only photography with this equipment that's banned. So from my understanding of this if you're not a journalist you can take pictures and Tweet all you want, but if you're a journalist you can't snap a picture with anything except your camera (or "non-professional equipment") but you'd still be able to use phones and tablets for other things.

For big outlets this shouldn't be a problem. They'll have all the professional equipment set up and ready to go pretty quickly. But I feel bad for smaller outlets who rely on cellphone and tablets. You can make judgements about the quality of cellphone photography all you want and I agree for the most part, but this still puts small outlets behind the average joe as far as sharing information is concerned. It seems like kind of an arbitrary ban to me.

I don't plan on attending the Olympics, but if this happened at one of the conventions I attend I'd be upset. I gained 300 Twitter followers on my professional account for livetweeting panels with pictures. People like instant information, so as low quality as cell phone photography may be, people want that immediate update.
,
10 years 5 months ago #307409 by Joves
Well perhaps they are worried that some may use a cell, or a tablet to sneak some tabloid type of shots. After all they are very unnoticeable to everyone, as where when a PJ is holding up a camera it is seen. This would be more true in private situations. If I see someone looking at their phone most of the time I think they are looking at messages, when in reality they could be shooting either video, or stills. They are holding the event so they have the right to choose the parameters of what is done there.
,
10 years 5 months ago #307425 by icepics
I thought maybe they expect professional quality photos to be coming from professional journalists working at the Olympics...

However I looked on Sportsshooter and found this; it was referring to shooting video not still photos, as that would violate broadcast rights.
ftw.usatoday.com/2013/11/ioc-spokesman-j...am-at-sochi-olympics
Sharon
Photo Comments
,
10 years 5 months ago #307499 by effron
Broadcast rights have no place in Russia. They want to control what the world sees, and they have already stated there will be NO public social demonstrations. We won't see any gay pride exhibitions, simply. Its their show, like it or not.....
Why so serious?
Photo Comments
,
10 years 5 months ago #307549 by Mike Ayrouth

effron wrote: Broadcast rights have no place in Russia. They want to control what the world sees, and they have already stated there will be NO public social demonstrations. We won't see any gay pride exhibitions, simply. Its their show, like it or not.....



Nothing has changed in years there
Getting BETTER one photo at a time!
Photo Comments
,
10 years 5 months ago #307561 by Stealthy Ninja
There was an olympics in London?
img\def

www.aevansphoto.com
,
10 years 5 months ago #308381 by StephanieW
I can maybe see the tabloid angle, but normal folk are still allowed to have their phones and tablets. It's journalists that are banned. Journalists might have access to more areas than regular folks, though, but I have no doubt that the athletes themselves will be tweeting up a storm. It just seems weird to me to bar journalists, but not everyone. I mean of course I'd like for nobody to have restrictions on them, but the lines between who can and who can't seem arbitrary to me. It's almost like Russia hates journalists or something which... might actually be the explanation now that I think about it.

This is going to be a weird Olympics. There are a ton of GLBT groups planning things. It'll be interesting to watch and not just for the sports.

Stealthy Ninja wrote: There was an olympics in London?


Yes. A herd of Marry Poppins flew in and the Queen went on an adventure with James Bond. It was grand.
,
10 years 5 months ago #308447 by icepics
This is misinformation that seemed to have been posted on a lot of websites. I don't know if a Russian official gave out inaccurate information or was misquoted or what exactly happened but there do not seem to be restrictions except on video being broadcast.

Media information can be found on the IOC official Olympics website.

It says "The IOC is the owner of the global broadcast rights for the Olympic Games..." and "...is responsible for allocating Olympic broadcast rights to media companies..." www.olympic.org/olympic-broadcasting If you look at IOC press releases you'll see some about broadcast rights being given to various media outlets in various countries.

There is a PDF on the site titled 'IOC Social Media, Blogging and Internet Guidelines for participants and other accredited persons at the Socchi 2014 Olympic Winter Games' that says what athletes and media are allowed to post and blog etc. #6 says "Accredited media may freely utilize social media platforms or websites for bona fide reporting purposes."

The exclusive broadcast rights would be similar to what we see in the US at the end of a sports broadcast that says something about the game being broadcast under rights of Major League Baseball (or whatever league it is).
Sharon
Photo Comments
,
10 years 5 months ago #308859 by StephanieW
Interesting! I don't know. The one I linked to linked to a blog in Russian as the source. Since I don't read Russian I couldn't understand the source of it all myself. This rumor has spread far and wide, though. Perhaps people are just ready to jump the gun on Russia because they don't exactly have a history of open media or expression. One person says something and bam, it's everywhere. I have no doubt that a lot of the protests and stuff are going to get buried, but that's par for the course. Stuff at the games themselves, however, would be incredibly confusing. Glad to see it appears to be misinformation.
,
10 years 5 months ago - 10 years 5 months ago #310219 by Stealthy Ninja

StephanieW wrote:

Stealthy Ninja wrote: There was an olympics in London?


Yes. A herd of Marry Poppins flew in and the Queen went on an adventure with James Bond. It was grand.


Weird. I guess the next one will be somewhere with a lot of gangs that control ghettos who have gun battle with police regularly... you know... like Rio or someplace ridiculous.
img\def

www.aevansphoto.com
,
10 years 5 months ago #310505 by StephanieW

Stealthy Ninja wrote:

StephanieW wrote:

Stealthy Ninja wrote: There was an olympics in London?


Yes. A herd of Marry Poppins flew in and the Queen went on an adventure with James Bond. It was grand.


Weird. I guess the next one will be somewhere with a lot of gangs that control ghettos who have gun battle with police regularly... you know... like Rio or someplace ridiculous.


That could also describe Los Angeles.
,
10 years 5 months ago #310641 by anrique
Banned Photography at Olympics, Due to this journalists capture lots of private moments of the player. And there are lots of Sid-effect
Cell phone photography.
These photo capture lots of privacy moments of the players.
,
10 years 5 months ago #310681 by Stealthy Ninja

anrique wrote: Banned Photography at Olympics, Due to this journalists capture lots of private moments of the player. And there are lots of Sid-effect
Cell phone photography.
These photo capture lots of privacy moments of the players.


Yeh there's no way you'd get any private moments with this:
img\def





:rolleyes
img\def

www.aevansphoto.com
,
10 years 5 months ago #311323 by StephanieW
Players or event attendees can also capture private moments and with things like Twitter hashtags they can reach an audience as big as or even bigger than an individual journalist would reach. It looks like this story was false anyway, but the arbitrary "no journalists, but ok to everyone else" thing is what hung me up.
,

  1. Forum
  2. General Discussion | Introductions | Off Topic Forum
  3. Photography General Discussion
  4. Journalists Banned from Cell Phone Photography at Olympics

817.3K

241K

  • Facebook

    817,251 / Likes

  • Twitter

    241,000 / Followers

  • Google+

    1,620,816 / Followers

Show Me...

Visit 4wdtlak Forum
Saal

Latest Reviews

Canon EOS R100 Review

The Canon EOS R100 is an entry-level mirrorless camera introduced in 2023. But just because it’s an entry-level camera doesn’t mean it’s a bare-bones camera. Find out why in this review!

Apr 22, 2024
Nikon Zfc Review

Nikon’s retro-looking Nikon Zfc is anything but retro. Under its classic body is a host of features and amenities that make it a worthwhile compact mirrorless camera for 2024.

Apr 15, 2024
Canon EOS R50 Review

The Canon EOS R50 is one of the newest R-system cameras from Canon. Is it worth your money? Find out all the details you need to know in this comprehensive review.

Apr 10, 2024
Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II Review

The Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II is Sony’s flagship mirrorless zoom lens. As such, it’s loaded with features and has a top-shelf build quality that makes it a top pick!

Mar 27, 2024
More Articles
Get 600+ Pro photo lessons for $1

Forum Top Posters

Sponsored Imageimages2/50off.jpgSponsored Imageimages/stories/ad_agency/2/1552465945.png
Sponsored ImageSponsored Image

Latest Articles

Guiding the Eye: Mastering Leading Lines in Photography

Using leading lines in photography helps improve the composition by drawing viewers in and leading their eye from the foreground to the background. Explore some fine examples of this in this guide!

Apr 24, 2024
Must-Have Insta360 Accessories

The Insta360 has one of the best lineups of action cams and 360-degree cameras. With these Insta360 accessories, you can elevate your photography and videography game!

Apr 24, 2024
5 Keys for More Impactful Photos of Landscapes

Creating impactful photos of landscapes depends on many factors, not the least of which is your talent behind the lens. This guide explores other elements required for the best product.

Apr 23, 2024
Canon EOS R100 Review

The Canon EOS R100 is an entry-level mirrorless camera introduced in 2023. But just because it’s an entry-level camera doesn’t mean it’s a bare-bones camera. Find out why in this review!

Apr 22, 2024
Expert Tips to Upgrade Your Camera Gear With Used Equipment

Are you ready to upgrade your camera? Before buying new, you might consider the value of purchasing used gear to save money.

Apr 18, 2024
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV is a micro four thirds camera released in 2020. It’s an entry-level system along with the OM-D E-M5 Mark III. Use this guide to determine which one is best for you!

Apr 17, 2024
What is Blue Hour Photography?

Blue hour photography might not be as well known as golden hour photography, but it is every bit as good a time to create epic images of landscapes. Learn how in this quick tutorial!

Apr 17, 2024
Nikon Zfc Review

Nikon’s retro-looking Nikon Zfc is anything but retro. Under its classic body is a host of features and amenities that make it a worthwhile compact mirrorless camera for 2024.

Apr 15, 2024
More Articles