[Leica] Times Photographer Is Arrested on Assignment in NY

[gcr910 at gmail.com (Greg Rubenstein)]

I'll add my three cents as a former media guy.

Phil raised valid points as a photographer and former LEO.

The article is The Times' side of the saga.

I was moved away by LEOs in my day and generally shifted to a longer lens 
from a less obtrusive or less dangerous place. Officers knew what I was 
doing and I knew what they were doing.

Now, the tricky part: Do riots cause photographers or do photographers cause 
riots? [Let's stipulate that in this context "photographers" is a synonym 
for media.]

PDN several years ago ran a widely used photo of masked Palestinians hurling 
Molotov cocktails. Who and what they were thrown at varied by caption writer.

What PDN also ran opposite that photo that other media did not was a second 
photo of the same scene from a different angle. It showed a phalanx of 
photographers photographing people hurling the Molotov cocktails into an 
empty lot backed by a brick wall. A much different story than what was shown 
in the mainstream media.

Do riots cause photographers or do photographers cause riots?

We don't have all the facts from the various sides of the New York incident, 
but we do know what happens when cameras of any sort appear at a flashpoint 
situation; they can spark the explosion or deliver a useful record. We also 
know all sides can turn and use the media to promote their agendas.

Let's get all the facts. Let's also try to look at it objectively; there's 
far more we don't know about the totality of the incident that drew media 
attention than we do know. The photographer is a sideshow, possibly The 
NYT's reminder not to argue with the guy who owns the printing presses and 
the ink. 

Any of y'all know for sure what happened there other than The NYT guy was 
arrested?

Greg Rubenstein

Sent from my iPhone