Most airlines give you a break on excess baggage and weight if you have a media pass. I am not a member of the media, but I have heard that you can make your own pass and it works fine. Does anyone know how to make a media pass? By the way, I was also told that it is legit to make your own, anyone can be part of the media, even the milkman, it just might not get you in to photograph the Olympics.
So it is okay for media to get a break on outrageous excess charges but not a hard working commercial photographer? If you do not fly to do professional shooting jobs you may not know this, but, the cost to the client for related travel fees is taking away jobs to a lot of us.
Mark Wieland wrote:
Most airlines give you a break on excess baggage and weight if you have a media pass. I am not a member of the media, but I have heard that you can make your own pass and it works fine.
Considering the state of airport security these days I think making your own pass and then trying to get over an airline with it is a one-way pass to the ol' hoosegow. It's unwise and (IMO) unethical too.
I was also told that it is legit to make your own, anyone can be part of the media, even the milkman
In NYC (and the surrounding areas) press credentials are issued by the NYPD. Before 9/11 they were strict and after they're only more so. Anyone with a computer and a modicum of talent can mock something up which will no doubt get you into high school football games, but anyplace you'd need serious credentials to gain entry, you'd almost certainly need legit credentials.
Mark Wieland wrote:
So it is okay for media to get a break on outrageous excess charges but not a hard working commercial photographer? If you do not fly to do professional shooting jobs you may not know this, but, the cost to the client for related travel fees is taking away jobs to a lot of us.
If that is what the airlines have decided, then yes it is. If you do not like it, then don't fly with anyone that had that policy. The media is suppose to provide a service by covering events for the public which is why they are given certain benefits. Commercial photographers in general do not do work that provides the public with coverage of news worthy events.
If one is media, the do it...if not, don't. Gaming the system makes it hard to sleep at night. And here on FM, I would hope that encouraging this making of a fake media pass would be completely frowned upon, just like resetting the odometer on a car or making false claims on an insurance form. Photography is what we do, or enjoy, or earn money at...we have a vested interest in protecting our image.
Frankly, as one that has legit media creds, this kind of thing really ticks me off, especially on a forum for photographers, pro, semi-pro, amature, whatever... all for what, to save a couple of bucks on luggage?
OK, that was the soapbox for the night, but +1 for doing the right thing.
MSC, I think your analogies are a real stretch and hardly the same as insurance fraud or rolling back an odometer, which for the record, I do not approve of. If it is legal to create your own media organization, which is what I was told, than why not take advantage of that when you fly? I guess because you are "with the media" you do not share the same hardships as other photographers that are doing what they can to stay a float. Sorry I brought up a controversial grey area, I will crawl back into my deep, dark, evil place and only talk about f-stops from now on.
Mark, I looked at your website. You are an accomplished photographer with large corp clients. So I guess I'm a little mystified by this whole thing. Maybe I assumed too much with my diatribe and so I apologize for that. Nobody likes a preachy soapbox loudmouth like my last post.
This kind of thing, fake media passes and related matters, to get things they did not earn (like access) is a hot button with me. Maybe coming from a family in the media from the 1940s, including a small town independent newspaper out west, just makes me overly sensitive to it, and perhaps outdated/old-fasioned. Anyway, nice work on your site, and please call me Shane.
Most airlines now have a policy in place that specifically does NOT allow for any excess baggage fees or weight fees to be waived for members of the media. This came about when the TSA officially allowed photographers to carry a carry on + personal item + camera case.
This TSA policy was not welcomed by the airlines, and is now officially 'not allowed' by most airlines.
As for making your own press credential, don't do it. If you have a credential it must be a legitimate credential. This is one issued by a government agency, known and verifiable organization or a verifiable news outlet. Two years ago I actually had a counter agent from Continental Airlines call the United States House & Senate Press Photographers Gallery to verify that my credential was legitimate to wave an over-weight fee for the media (Continental no longer officially allows for overweight bags).
......and making a fake press card, just really, don't do it. It'll piss a lot of us working journalists off.
