I just found these news about press cards in a web document*:
14. The situation in Italy is unique in Europe, if not in the entire world, as the profession of journalist is governed by the Italian Order of Journalists (Ordine dei Giornalisti), comprising a National council and regional branches which issues press cards, and a disciplinary board. The law requires that journalists must be registered with the ODG as professionals, a status which itself sets requirements with regard to age, length of practise and training.
15. In a number of member States, professional journalists possess a press card. It is not mandatory in all cases and does not necessarily define the status of journalist, but it may provide media professionals with a useful means of being identified and recognised as such, particularly by the police or judicial authorities and by the organisers of public events. The authorities issuing press cards may vary from one member State to another.
16. In Belgium, for example, journalists are not required to hold an official press card in order to have the right to work, but the press card does serve the purpose of identifying professionals10 and give them a specific social status, in particular where their pension rights are concerned.
17. In France, press cards, which are not compulsory, are issued by the "Press Card Commission", made up of sixteen full members elected or appointed for three years. The representatives of the trade unions are elected from among the six trade unions representing the profession.
18. In Germany, the non-compulsory press card (Presseausweis) is issued by one of five professional organisations, three of them representing journalists and two of them representing employers' organisations. However, for several years now, commercial organisations have been selling forged or "alternative" press cards without verifying the professional qualifications of the buyers, which has become a cause for concern for the legitimate organisations. The official press card is currently issued on a regional basis in each "Land" but as from 2018 it will be issued on a federal basis, without any change to the criteria governing its issue.
19. In Turkey, press cards are not mandatory but are a useful means of identification for journalists, particularly by police and judicial authorities at political, cultural or sports events. Holders of press cards also benefit from reduced ticket prices on public transport and free admission to public places, including museums, galleries, exhibitions and stadiums. Press cards are issued by the Directorate general for media and information, an institution placed under the authority and management of the Prime Minister. Decisions to issue press cards are taken by a Press Card Commission, comprising 15 members appointed by the Institution of media publications. The regulations governing press cards establish a restrictive list of titles which may obtain a press card, as well as quotas for different types of media and press agencies.
20. In Ukraine, legislation governing national press cards is currently being drawn up. A draft version of the regulations stipulates that the card must be issued by the Journalistic Ethics Commission, at the request of the National Union of Journalists, the Independent union of media of Ukraine or editorial offices of media outlets such as the printed press, TV and radio broadcasters and press agencies. The card will serve to confirm the journalist's professional affiliation as well as their status.
21. In the Nordic countries, press cards are issued by a single national trade union, meaning that obtaining journalist status essentially hinges on membership of the union concerned.
22. In Poland, press cards are not mandatory. They are usually issued by the respective editorial office or media company, with no restrictions applying. International press cards are issued by the professional organisations (the Association of Polish journalists and the Society of Polish journalists).
Italy's current law basically forbids journalism (properly so recognised) without press card, Ukraine's law draft could be doing so - or could have done so in the mean time, since the document is from 2017.
Here was an interesting thing from another point of view:
31. Whereas traditionally sources were identified (agencies, press releases, and investigative work), information now also comes from non-professional sources (bloggers, “you-tubers”, content generated by the users, etc.). The question of the “user-generated content” or the generic terms “citizen journalism” concerns this expertise in a relatively limited manner since by definition non-professionals do not have any particular status. No country in Europe grants the status of journalist to persons who do not meet the necessary requirements, i.e. that their main occupation is the processing of information and that this is how they earn their living, which does not, of course, apply to amateur bloggers. In theory, for example, bloggers in Germany may obtain a Presseausweis provided they meet the afore-mentioned requirements for its allocation. However, as a result of the media economy single individuals who do not sell their articles to press organisations simply cannot make journalism their main activity and source of revenue.
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Provisional version Doc. … 4 December 2017
The status of journalists in Europe, Report
Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media
Rapporteur: Ms Elvira DROBINSKI-WEISS, Germany, Socialists, Democrats and Greens
http://website-pace.net/documents/19871/3306947/20171204-StatusJournalistsInEurope-EN.pdf/80000471-7f19-49b5-8186-0ca1b185fa8f
In this context, it can be interesting, I am fairly much viewed in Ukraine and Italy:
This means, some of my viewers there may be wondering:
- Do I have a press card?
- If not, what am I doing without one?
Answers:
- No, I don't.
- In France it is not legally required to do journalism, even properly so called.
It is interesting the "Press Card Commission" here has 16 members, this means that any blog stats from France with 16 views (or multiple thereof) could in theory be from the "Press Card Commission".
Now, what is so special about paragraph 31?
No country in Europe grants the status of journalist to persons who do not meet the necessary requirements, i.e. that their main occupation is the processing of information and that this is how they earn their living, which does not, of course, apply to amateur bloggers.
It doesn't?
Well, my main occupation is actually processing of information (I blog full time), my living is got by ... charitable deeds by others. Sometimes inspired by the fact I show a cardboard which specifies the links to my processed information.
My hoped for future living would be to get posts republished and printed commercially, in books (usually monographies or essay collections) or in papers (dailies, magazines, periodicals) on a basis of non-exclusive general licence right for them and voluntary (since adapted to their means) remuneration for me. This general licence is granted both to professionals and to amateurs (fanzine redactions) and also to those wanting to transition from amateur to professional (or vice versa).
It has already been formulated a few years ago, and here is the page on a wordpress blog that was disconnected by the loss of the email I connected by and accessing it too late to reset password and email, no, actually it was the blog which was disconnected without such a misadventure:
hglwrites : A little note on further use conditions
https://hglwrites.wordpress.com/a-little-note-on-further-use-conditions/
hglwrites : Conditions d’utilisations ultérieures …
https://hglwrites.wordpress.com/conditions-dutilisations-ulterieures/
So, my plan has been foiled for some years by now, by people probably claiming behind my back, untruthfully, one cannot republish what I write, since I don't have a press card and am not recognised as a journalist. And while my posts have not been republished, commercially printed, I am not not recognised as a journalist due to not having my blogging as source of income, directly. Some people, when I hold a cardboard with my blogs on them, actively try to avoid dealing with the fact I am offering something to read - while others, though fewer as time goes by, appreciate my initiative and promise to have a look at my blogs.
The fact is, in order to start an edition of anything I wrote, either long single essay or article or blogpost or a series I connected, or a collection made without my connecting them, by editor chosing them, or even culled from the link lists given on the posts dealing with viewer statistics (most viewed posts or posts viewed by "club 21"), I don't have to be beforehand a recognised journalist, and you don't even have to be beforehand a recognised editor. BUT, if you do the edition in France, commercially or otherwise, up from 100 copies to the public, you are required to send one copy to national library.
So, I wonder how much of the pushing this project back has come from Italy where "the profession of journalist is governed by the Italian Order of Journalists (Ordine dei Giornalisti), comprising a National council and regional branches which issues press cards, and a disciplinary board" and where "[t]he law requires that journalists must be registered with the ODG as professionals, a status which itself sets requirements with regard to age, length of practise and training". This sounds like a requirement from the era of Mussolini, and while I am in a sense for corporativism, I am not against his memory, I am also not for its applying in a restrictive sense to professions of free expression. I also wonder how many in Ukraine have been implementing such a policy, if the back in 2017 law draft made the press card compulsory.
One type of reporting I do is a bit special : I report debates held on internet. With youtube or forums, which do not require use of real name, I use the screen name chosen. With FB, which does, I do not always do so, but for non-public persons (not published writers, not priests, not teaching at university etc) I prefer to anonymise, since their debate with me was not set on public and they need not always want their profile to be known.
As in such cases I do not make all the text, I think it is fair to include a special clause for the blogs where I do that (or sometimes also single posts on stray other blogs).
Assorted retorts from yahoo boards and elsewhere : Copyright issues on blogposts with shared copyright
http://assortedretorts.blogspot.com/p/copyright-issues-on-blogposts-with.html
Short version : if you want to republish, for this type of post, it is preferrable to get the release from the other participants, and to pay them a part too of the royalties.
This applies to many posts on : Assorted retorts from yahoo boards and elsewhere, Répliques Assorties, Antworten nach Sorte, Correspondence of Hans Georg Lundahl and HGL's F.B. writings and also to some stray posts on other blogs.
Hat tip to Hilde Lysiak, whose misadventure with a policeman bullying her led to comments making me look up what rules apply here.
OSN Publisher Hilde Lysiak Threatened With Arrest
Orange Street News | 18.II.2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AQpst6WdOI
One commenter said, in US you don't strictly need a press card, but in France you do. The fact is, in France you don't in order to write, but in situations of reporting what is going on, like going forward with a camera or a notepad and pencil, a press card is very useful to notify people you are on legitimate business. As my information processing is more articles than "reportage", I don't tend to come into that kind of situation. I did the 15.XII.2018, though:
New blog on the kid : Accident de voiture, samedi soir, Bd de St Michel, Paris
http://nov9blogg9.blogspot.com/2018/12/accident-de-voiture-samedi-soir-bd-de.html
While I actually did report, my reporting was also a bit hampered by the lack of a press card.
Hans Georg Lundahl
Nanterre UL
St. Severian of Scythopolis in Palestine
21.II.2019
Scythopoli, in Palaestina, sancti Severiani, Episcopi et Martyris, qui, Eutychianis acerrime se opponens, gladio peremptus est.
Martyred by an angry Copt or some (basically, Eutychians basically being that), and the city he was bishop of is today known as Bisān or Beit She'an.
PS, the report has these references : Reference to committee: Doc. 13970, Reference 4193 of 22 April 2016.
Update on Miss Hilde Lysiak's misadventure with the police, while reporting for Orange Street News:
Patagonia Apologizes to OSN, Will "Not Tolerate any Further Restrictions on Freedom of Speech."
Orange Street News | 28.II.2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pi5HLhr3Vg
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