Scoopt, Telegraph, News of the World… pitfalls of selling photos to the press
It’s becoming more and more common for the media to appeal to citizen journalists – people who happen to be on the ground with mobile camera phone in hand – when a big story breaks. Most reader photos will be unusable, but it seems everyone’s prepared to sift for the odd gold nugget, especially as for many people the warm glow of seeing the photo they took in the newspaper will be enough of a reward.
To say professional press photographers are wary is an understatement. The NUJ has accused the country’s best selling broadsheet, the Daily Telegraph, of ‘highway robbery’ over its ‘snap & send’ appeal. It’s not just that Telegraph readers who send photos in won’t be paid; they agree to ‘indemnify Telegraph Group Limited against all legal fees, damages and other expenses that may be incurred by Telegraph Group Limited’. So if, say, you tell the Telegraph your photo shows some politician snorting cocaine and said politician denies all and decides to sue, you’ll pick up the tab. Nasty.
Meanwhile, the commission charged by citizen journalists’ press agency Scoopt, is more than a little steep and you have to sign away all your rights. But if you really are Joe Blogs and just happen to get a newsworthy pic, you’re unlikely to worry about such things.
Looks like you’re better off with the tabloids. The News of the World’s been advertising via Google on blogs and elsewhere with ‘we pay more than anyone for exclusives’ and a boast that: ‘We outsell all our rival Sunday papers put together so we can afford to pay more’.
Related: Scoopt: sell news & celebrity photos to the press……Scoopt: now selling camera phone pictures
Contact Stephen Newton
Comments (One comment)
Hi Stephen
Just a little clarification… with Scoopt, far from signing away all your rights, you *keep* copyright. This means you get paid every time your picture is sold, forever. Go direct to the papers and you’ll always have to give up copyright. That means a one-off flat fee - and that’s a rip-off.
For example, we sold a set of pics last weekend three times, in three countries, and we’re not done with them yet. The photographer has so far earned over £800.
Cheers
Kyle
Scoopt
Kyle MacRae / December 10th, 2005, 9:18 pm / #
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