What’s a generally good way to deal with being detained in a country where you don’t know the laws/legal system?

Ed Kashi answers:

It’s imperative that you understand the local laws regarding media of a country you plan to work in. Having said that, often they don’t necessarily protect you. Depending on the level of violence and intimidation towards journalists in a given place, it’s critically important you create a web of support and a system of communications. In extreme places, I will create a list of contacts that expect me to check in every 24 hours. In some cases, I’ll even contact my embassy and include the media relations and head of security if possible. A relative, your editor if you are on assignment and your agency or another professional contact. Then it’s a simple message every night where you are, where you’re going the next day and that all is ok. This can be done either via a text and/or email thread. This method saved me from a long detention in Nigeria a few years ago. This is why a proper data plan or local SIM card is essential. If you are in a place without internet, then you must find the next best way to maintain consistent contact with both local contacts and the outside world.

What are the privacy rules for publishing photos of random citizens? If people ask you not to publish photos of them, are you legally obligated to comply or just ethically obligated? Is there a legal difference between publishing in a publication and posting on social media?

Linda Bournane Engelberth answers:

In Norway the press follows the Code of Ethics. You’re allowed to photograph people in public places, but if you are framing them close in the picture, you have to ask them for permission. If people ask you not to publish their photo, you’re legally obligated to follow their request. But there are some exceptions; if the person you are photographing is participating in a newsworthy context you are allowed to publish the photo without permission. The same rule applies with social media.

I try to follow the rules in the countries I’m visiting. Sometimes that is difficult, for example in Algeria you are not allowed to photograph on the street, in general. And I’m using my sense of ethical obligations above the law of the country. If a photographer were to always follow the law, in some countries, no photos would ever be taken. And the press freedom is at stake.

Most of the time, I’m working on personal projects and get very close to people that I’m photographing. Many of my subjects don’t want to be posted on social media, but are ok with publications and exhibitions. In general, I think every photographer is ethically obligated to their subjects. If you are working closely with subjects on a story, you rely on their trust and it’s always wise to ask for permission.

What do you consider the largest, most pressing threat to freedom of the press today both domestically and internationally?

Ron Haviv answers:

Freedom of the press is being threatened on several fronts. Rhetoric from the US presidential campaign to actions in Turkey and elsewhere are examples that show a concerted effort or the idea to affect coverage of events of the day on a governmental level. The ability to document conflicts becomes more and more hindered with the rise and takeover of territory by ISIS and others. The power of the media, and often more so the power of the image, is being recognized as something that needs to be controlled.

But the freedom is also being undermined by a passive audience who looks to media that is in alignment with their own political sensibilities. An audience’s inability to listen to and understand the other side leads simply to an echo chamber of like-minded voices. Even more damaging is people are often accepting whatever they see online as fact. Mistaken facts, stories, and captions designed to misinform are becoming ever more the norm. We remain in danger to our own ignorance of being misled and taken down a path where the freedom of the press is no longer recognized as being an essential right for all.

What sort of credentials are required and do the very same credentials ever inhibit your work?

Arnau Bach answers:

While carrying out my photographic work, both personal projects or assignments, I always keep with me the International Press Card which is provided by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

The credentials provided by the IFJ consist of an international press card, the IFJ’s certificate, a list with the principles on the conduct of journalists and a list of addresses of the main offices of the IFJ around the world.

In my case, holding this credential has allowed me to have access to different official places and events during the production of my personal projects.

On my latest project, Capital, it allowed me to get access and photograph official acts of the prefecture of Marseille city, such as a ceremony in honor of law-enforcement officers where the Prime Minister of France was attending and also different official events during the municipal elections in the city council.

During the production of my project in the suburbs of Paris, Suburbia, I never had to use my credentials except in one instance where I was involved in a police raid while photographing some young drug dealers on the street. At first, the police were rough with me and tried to confiscate the memory card which contained images of many characters I photographed. I quickly showed my international press card to the police officers and they quenched their attitude towards me and gave up their intention to confiscate my memory card full of images.

I highly recommend and encourage to all freelance photographers to get the international press card. It will prevent unwanted problems and will give you access to places that otherwise you wouldn’t have.

The IFJ promotes international action to defend press freedom and social justice through strong, free, and independent trade unions of journalists. The IFJ does not subscribe to any given political viewpoint, but promotes human rights, democracy, and pluralism.

Find out more information about the International Federation of Journalists here.

In today’s age of newsfeed-filtering algorithms, how can we be sure press freedom isn’t simply becoming a popularity contest where the most palatable photos are the only ones getting seen?

John Stanmeyer answers:

One cannot control these algorithms. Therefore, we must work around them, leverage all options to express our messages and purpose through all means of communication. Even with algorithm filtering, there has never been a more poignant time in history to communicate. I’ve approach topics related to global refugee issues, genocide, and poverty inequality all through the poignant and empowering communication tools known as social media, able to reach millions, creating dialogue, awareness and yes, even heated discussions on topics affecting all of us today. There is always a means around control, limitations, ensure freedom to express the most profound needs impacting us as a global society.

Whilst working on a potentially controversial story in a country with limited press freedom, would you work ‘undercover’ or would you always try to work officially and how would you go about protecting the subjects in the photos as well as those fixers, translators, drivers who help you?

Poulomi Basu answers:

Whilst I would always hope to be able to work openly, enjoying those press freedoms we all hold dear — it is, unfortunately, not always possible. My aim is to tell true and compelling stories that reveal an often hidden reality. To do this, one must sometimes hide one’s presence or disguise your motives from authority in a given situation. You can try to be low profile, using consumer point and shoot camera, your camera phone or simply being selective about when and where you use your camera. It is my responsibility to understand the risks involved in certain contexts and ensure that those I am working with (fixers, etc.) and subjects also understand those risks. I may come and go from a certain situation but they have to live there full time so it is important to understand how far you can push and dig for a story before you, potentially, put anyone in danger.

In discussions with subjects, it is important to understand how they might want to mitigate any risks, such as photographing them anonymously or changing their name in any captions of associated articles. Photography is a continuous dialogue between photographer and subject and safety should be one of those subjects talked about. Subjects should understand any risks before agreeing to reveal their identity. Ultimately it is their choice, but you need to be able to help them understand the information so that they can arrive at a decision.

How can you comment on holding to the international law when it comes to working on conflicts? I mean, should a photographer hold on to the terms determined by international law in the cutlines and captions in his work?

Gary Knight answers:

I think that it is important to be familiar with the Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with other laws and conventions that govern how wars should be conducted. I think that journalists should respect those laws and conventions and that should be reflected in one’s work. For example, it is important to understand what is and what is not genocide. It is important to understand when it is legitimate to refer to someone as a war criminal or suspected war criminal. It is critical to be able to differentiate between a refugee and a displaced person as defined by international law. Journalists do not get to decide those things for themselves.

How old were you when you first picked up a camera? What do you think about the changes from that moment, compared to the present regarding freedom of press? Do you feel press freedom has been eroding more the last 5-10 years and, if so, why do you think this is the case?

Franco Pagetti answers

I started taking pictures when I was 31 years old. I began as an assistant and worked in a dark room lab. At 35, I did my first fashion assignment for Vogue Italy. When I was 46, I decided to go into photojournalism, not because I thought fashion was useless, but because I became more curious about what was going on in the world around me.

I don’t think press freedom has been eroding in this time period. What is different, however, is the political and social engagement of the photographer. I think there is more of an interest in being visible and winning prizes than in telling stories. There are also more photographers.

When I began, the number of photographers that I would meet was very small. Today, everyone takes photos with their cameras or phones. The internet has helped with visibility but it has made everyone a photographer.

Newspapers also no longer have budgets to send photographers on long, investigative assignments. I remember that to take just a couple of dozen photos of female inmates in homes during the Taliban regime, I had to stay in Afghanistan for a month and photograph only occasionally, so as not to endanger the subjects or myself. Even then, I was arrested and spent three days in a prison in a barracks of the Taliban.

How does VII handle restrictions on access, e.g., denial of travel visas, presence of government “minders”?

Ashley Gilbertson answers:

This differs for each photographer, but in my case, I’ve always found ways to work around difficult regimes and governments. Before traveling anywhere, I’ll speak to international organizations like Reporters Without Borders, and read through reports on the country/region by Human Rights Watch. After that, I begin working with local organizations that have chapters or reps outside of their homelands — almost every resistance movement has these people stationed around the world. Through them, and with the knowledge of the laws I’m breaking, I’ll find a way to enter and work in the areas in question. I did this a couple of times in Iraq in 2002 and 2003 when I entered the country illegally, once through Iran and another time through Syria, and a couple of years prior in West Papua, Indonesia, where I was smuggled over the jungle border from neighboring Papua New Guinea with filmmaker Timothy Grucza to document the Free West Papua movement.

In situations where I’m forced to work with government minders, there are sometimes manners in which a photographer can develop a relationship that allows the minder to turn the other way turn in some cases — though that’s rare. We’re often trailed by some sort of secret police. On a separate trip to West Papua, the police were famous for raiding suspected journalists’ hotel rooms at 5:30 AM, so Tim and I would always wake up and check out by 5:00 AM. When we’d discover we were being followed by the police, we’d find a creative way to move on from the location we were in, be it trekking through mountains or flirting with a flight attendant who controls cargo flight manifests in order to get us out on the next flight amongst the chickens and dry goods.

About Neal Jackson: Neal Jackson became Chairman Emeritus of VII in 2013 after serving five years as Chairman of the VII board. A lawyer by training and formerly the chief legal officer of NPR, Neal now consults, writes and teaches about photojournalism, especially the business and ethics of it. He is also an active advocate for greater safety for journalists, and co-founded the nonprofit Trauma Training for Journalists. TTJ’s international team of doctors and medically-trained volunteers focuses on training local journalists (including fixers, translators, and others who facilitate news reporting coverage in hazardous environments) in medical trauma management.

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