The framing of this discussion has changed slightly now that the camp has been set up on common land, something which I’ve addressed in another blog post.

It’s really not hard to conceive the difference between a photographer and an non-photographer (such as a ‘citizen’ or print journalist). One has a camera and points it at people who then feel uncomfortable and self conscious, the others don’t.
While photographers may feel it is there right to point that camera anywhere they like at any time, others feel it is there right to have some privacy occasionally and punch photographers in the face when they intrude. I for one would rather that didn’t happen and am glad some thought has been given to an access policy even if it is full of contradictions.

As Pilger says journalists are citizens too, we have no more right to report or photograph than anyone else, yet because we are professionals we somehow have less right to be in a field with anybody else who wishes to attend?

There will no doubt be undercover journalists at the camp this year, as there will no doubt be undercover police as there were last year and at the G20 Climate Camp earlier this year.

At any other event being an accredited journalist affords you more access, not less.

Part of the restrictions imposed previously has been in order to minimise any confrontation between other campers and members of the press, rather than to control the story. As we all (including the camp press team) know, if someone wants to go all undercover they can – snap a drunken hippy here, half hear a conversation there, hatchet job ahoy etc.

Whilst the policies are contradictory to a ludicrous degree, as Pilger and others who have worked in the same field for years have testified, but you can see where the policies stem from (including the rubbish that has been written by certain papers in the past).

If there was no policy at all, then you can be sure the ‘camp’ as it constitutes itself would hold a meeting and ban all press from the site.

No doubt everyone will be encouraged to use the Indymedia tent as in previous years, in 2007 when I asked to photograph inside the Indymedia tent they told me I wasn’t allowed, you can now see that very same tent on Wikipedia.

It’s nothing more than an attempt to control the story and the bizarre belief that all journalists are evil, invasive people who will be sticking their lenses everywhere.

Why should journalists have to sign a code of conduct when every other person on the camp is allowed to report freely?

I’ll be attending the camp and intend to blog and tweet while I’m there. I emailed the Press team yesterday to ask how their Media Access Policy affects people doing this, wondering if I’ll be getting a slapped wrist for using Qik and Twitpic etc. They replied:

“in the handbook that will be handed out to all campers, there will be a section providing guidelines for people who will be taking photos and
videos in this capcity – asking people to bascvially just do it with respect” (sic)

Interested to see what those guidelines are because if the idea is to basically just do it with respect, surely that’s the only guideline required? Or am I reading into it too much?