Nobody Asks for Press Cards Anymore, Do They?
I remember a spirited debate with Shoul once when I suggested that press IDs, which were once issued to reporters and photographers, were no longer neccessary. I told him that I thought people used business cards now, and that the press card thing was a throw-back, an old and gone tradition.
Today I read in a NH newspaper that the state there will no longer issue these press IDs. That’s because the man in charge, Jim Van Dongen of the Dept of Safety, says there are too many new online and specialty news outlets and he doesn’t want to have to be the decider about who gets one. It’s a sign of the times of our blurry distrinction between the many different kinds of journalists.
Van Dongen said that in NH, between 150 and 200 people ask for the passes a year, but the truth is, they don’t get many chances to use them.
February 3, 2008 @ 2:04 am
I agree that their day has come and gone. At sporting events, the management learns to recognize the legitmate press. Cops get to know the local media. And business cards suffice for the rest, with a news truck being its own credential.There are so many online news services. . . who’s to say one is legit and another is not. I’m a book author, not a member of the news media, but I photograph sporting events and I certainly see that every day.