When I was a stringer in Austin a few years ago, the majority of the cops were pretty cool to me. They learned that stringers aren’t what they’re portrayed like on TV and in the movies. They knew I had a job to do and I knew they had a job to do. I respected them and stayed out of their way and they respected me and let me do my job (sometimes Baker sector cops would get their panties in a wad, but that was mainly just in the upscale parts of town where they didn’t want rich people to freak out about news crews showing up). County on the other hand, always freaked out when they had a camera show up and would push us back as far as legally possible (and sometimes questionably farther) and tell us nothing about the story for days after inquiring. Even BS non injury crashes or pursuits. I’m surprised they didn’t encrypt.
They used to do the whole “media is on scene” thing on the radio, but a lot of the time it was so Watch Command knew we’d be calling for info or a supervisor knew we were there so they could come over and brief us. I’d occasionally get the sudden “we’re expanding the crime scene” thing depending on what part of town I was in. But I just set up behind where they put their tape.
Here’s the thing. I used professional equipment and conducted myself in a professional manner and in line with journalism ethics while working those streets, and made a lot of very helpful source contacts with officials as a result of my professionalism.
I can tell you since I left, there are no other professional stringers in Austin, actually being paid to put breaking news on TV, aside from the two guys who worked at the company I used to work for after I left. And they no longer work there. And a photog who works at one of the stations on nights and listens to scanners.
There was a page called ATXScan when I was there, and I think he lurks on these forums, that posted calls. But he always did a good job of not posting sensitive calls or at least waiting until after it was over to post. And if he showed up at scenes, he was respectful and not in the way. I also think he was a freelance contractor with one of the stations as well.
I have seen another page recently that posts what seems to be almost every call as it’s dispatched, and shows up at scenes with an iPhone and gets in the way. He does not get paid to put news on TV, he just gives it to them for free.
There’s a line between professionals and amateurs when it comes to news. I’ve shot news in several large cities long enough to know where I can and can’t legally be, or if I am in the way of the cops or fire/EMS. If I challenged someone who told me I can’t be somewhere, it was because I knew I had the right to be there, and most of the time, their supervisor would come over and sort it all out and we could come to an agreement and go on about all of our jobs.
A lot of these amateurs/hobbyist/cop watchers think just because we have a 1st amendment right in this country, they can stand wherever they want to and be completely disrespectful to the officials at the scene just because they say their media/press…which is not how it works. You have a right to film from where you can legally be and doesn’t interfere with their jobs, which are more important. That is a fast track to encryption and agencies hating the media.
Unfortunately, a lot of the amateurs/hobbyist/auditors are misinformed and are ruining it for everyone and making it harder for the real stringers/journalists to make a living and the scanner listeners to listen.
I’m not surprised that Austin is talking about encrypting. There were some auditors out there when I was there, no clue if those idiots are still out there or not. Funny how they would harass APD, who was pretty cool to the media and pretty transparent, but never TCSO who were almost always a pain to deal with.
I just hope that they give the media access in some way if it does happen…and preferably not the 3 hour late Twitter posts like they have been doing.
They used to do the whole “media is on scene” thing on the radio, but a lot of the time it was so Watch Command knew we’d be calling for info or a supervisor knew we were there so they could come over and brief us. I’d occasionally get the sudden “we’re expanding the crime scene” thing depending on what part of town I was in. But I just set up behind where they put their tape.
Here’s the thing. I used professional equipment and conducted myself in a professional manner and in line with journalism ethics while working those streets, and made a lot of very helpful source contacts with officials as a result of my professionalism.
I can tell you since I left, there are no other professional stringers in Austin, actually being paid to put breaking news on TV, aside from the two guys who worked at the company I used to work for after I left. And they no longer work there. And a photog who works at one of the stations on nights and listens to scanners.
There was a page called ATXScan when I was there, and I think he lurks on these forums, that posted calls. But he always did a good job of not posting sensitive calls or at least waiting until after it was over to post. And if he showed up at scenes, he was respectful and not in the way. I also think he was a freelance contractor with one of the stations as well.
I have seen another page recently that posts what seems to be almost every call as it’s dispatched, and shows up at scenes with an iPhone and gets in the way. He does not get paid to put news on TV, he just gives it to them for free.
There’s a line between professionals and amateurs when it comes to news. I’ve shot news in several large cities long enough to know where I can and can’t legally be, or if I am in the way of the cops or fire/EMS. If I challenged someone who told me I can’t be somewhere, it was because I knew I had the right to be there, and most of the time, their supervisor would come over and sort it all out and we could come to an agreement and go on about all of our jobs.
A lot of these amateurs/hobbyist/cop watchers think just because we have a 1st amendment right in this country, they can stand wherever they want to and be completely disrespectful to the officials at the scene just because they say their media/press…which is not how it works. You have a right to film from where you can legally be and doesn’t interfere with their jobs, which are more important. That is a fast track to encryption and agencies hating the media.
Unfortunately, a lot of the amateurs/hobbyist/auditors are misinformed and are ruining it for everyone and making it harder for the real stringers/journalists to make a living and the scanner listeners to listen.
I’m not surprised that Austin is talking about encrypting. There were some auditors out there when I was there, no clue if those idiots are still out there or not. Funny how they would harass APD, who was pretty cool to the media and pretty transparent, but never TCSO who were almost always a pain to deal with.
I just hope that they give the media access in some way if it does happen…and preferably not the 3 hour late Twitter posts like they have been doing.
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