How to apply for a Press Pass?
Does one has to apply to each event separately? If one is “free-lance” is that an automatic rejection?
I just want to enjoy the summer events here and record them for journalistic reasons, and have some contacts with the local media, but they are low-level, not on the editorial staff.
l have two digital cameras and a Sony digital DVT video camera, and a donated old-school 35mm camera with standard 55mm lens plus an nice 80mm- 200mm zoom lens which I would like to film in B&W (IF I can find a place that actually sells film these days…I would love to go retro in that area, but it has been awhile).
Any advice appreciated.
ETA: I don’t want to record concerts or performances in entirety, just people having fun with me asking their permission to be photographed.
I thought event organizers would be responsible for organizing press passes, as opposed to having some kind of “press badge/passport” that one can flash to guarantee entry into any event you wish. Like if you showed that press card linked to in a prior post to a security guard at a U2 concert (I’m picking an extreme example to illustrate the point), they’d say, “That’s nice but you’re still not on the list.”
I think you need to contact the event organizers and ask them what their criteria are.
Ravenman is right. For the most part, “press passes” are issued by whatever group is hosting the event you want to cover. They’re issued for each event, rather than giving you a pass you can use any time. The group usually will want to see evidence that you work for, or are on a freelance assignment for, a media outlet that they care about. If you’re a writer for the Monthly Farm Report and trying to get a press pass for Lollapalooza, they’re going to laugh and turn you away. Freelancers may have to provide a letter from the media outlet verifying that you are indeed covering this event for them; that weeds out the folks just looking for a freebie.
Local police departments sometimes issue official press passes to reporters, basically a card verifying that you work for the media and might be granted a bit more access than the general public when attending events. But those aren’t so common anymore.
A media outlet like a newspaper or a TV station, or a group like IAPP, usually will provide a press pass that verifies you work for them, but it’s not worth much beyond confirming your employment when asking for the event’s press pass. Except for news conferences and such, you can’t just go to an event and flash your employer-issued press pass at the door to get in. They’ll still direct you to the event management for access. And if you try flashing your employer or police-issued press pass just to avoid the cover charge, you’ll be in a load of trouble if they find out.
Yes to the above. There is no general “press pass” that gets you access everywhere. There are press IDs that will help in certain situations, but generally you have to go to the media liason/PR person that is organizing the event and get your credentials through them. There’s nothing wrong with being “freelance,” but it helps if you’ve got a publication behind you that could send in the request for credentials.
I should expand a little on what I said. So printed press credentials may help a little, but you still have to get a pass for the event itself (at least any event I’ve ever been to with any amount of media organization.) So the press credential will help prove to the PR/media liason people marginally of who you are and what you do and that you’re not just a random jackass off the street, but they still will need to issue you their own pass for the event, and they will often want a formal request from the media outlet you are working for. For smaller events in need of publicity, they might not give a shit and just issue passes willy nilly to whomever asks, but for anything else, you will generally need to have at least some media outlet behind you.
Right. The common person on the street’s conception of a “press pass”, fueled no doubt by early 20th century movies with trenchcoated journalists all with their “press passes” tucked into their hatbands and carrying oversized cameras with huge flashes, is mostly a myth.
For those who have done so, how easy is it to actually get press passes? For example, if I decide one day to become an upstart, freelance reporter and go get my own “scoops”, how do I get taken seriously by press-pass issuing entities? Do I need a minimum score on a Journalism Skills Test? Do I need X number of endorsements from current press-pass holders? Is it all arbitrary and capricious and even veteran journalists from the most prestigious publications are sometimes denied passes for vague “does not meet standards” reasons?
Is it meaningfully possible for wannabe journalist to try for a press pass as a career starter? E.g. if I dream about someday writing for the Monthly Farm Report but they won’t hire someone like me who has no background in agricultural journalism, can I go and (somehow) earn my own Press Passes for the Tri-County Agricultural Fair, the Podunk Farmers’ Market, and the Annual Bakersdale Corn Conference and then apply to the Monthly Farm Report as an entry-level writer with “Have Press Passes!” highlighted prominently on my resume?
Or is this (as I suspect) backwards, and press passes can generally only be obtained by people already working in journalism?
First, you get an assignment from your boss. Then you contact the event organizer. But, you say, I want to talk about it on my blog/post photos on my website, etc. Then you can ask the event organizer to check out your work and make a decision based on what they see. Don’t be surprised if the answer is, “No” or even “HELL NO!”
No, because your future employer would get passes for anyone on its staff. The way to get a job with the Monthly Farm Report is to show them what you’ve written about Tri-County Agricultural Fair, the Podunk Farmers’ Market, and the Annual Bakersdale Corn Conference.
Honestly, a press pass isn’t some VIP card that magically gets you past the velvet rope. At best, it might get you into a crowded news conference by a public official, or convince a firefighter to let you through the line to talk to the chief for a minute.
Wow. Thanks to everybody for clarification. I just wanted to bring my new-fangled camera into a local concert and upload to the local newspaper.
Evidently I am going to have to have a 1099 contract with the Monthly Farm Report.
Sounds like a career-starter.
