NPPA Annual Meeting at their new location the Grady College of Journalism

by Stanley Learyphotojournalism
 
Mark E. Johnson is on the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication faculty at the University of Georgia, teaching photojournalism and multimedia journalism courses. He talks to the board about some of the expenses associated with the offices now being in the school. [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/3.6 1/80]

This photo is of the annual board meeting for the National Press Photographers Association at Grady College of Journalism with the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.

This month, the NPPA moved the organization’s headquarters to the Grady College of Journalism. The move will cut their overhead costs due to the school giving them office space with minimal expenses like phone and internet connections.

NPPA, like all photography associations, has been losing members due to the industry staff jobs going away in so many places around the globe.

Mickey H. Osterreicher, NPPA’s general counsel, tells the board how last year they helped a member in a lawsuit where his rights were violated and allowed with a $200,000 settlement. The person donated $3,000 to NPPA legal fund. [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4 1/250]

Community coordination has shaped and advanced America since its birth and has historically set America apart from many other nations. NGOs and other associations have formed many places worldwide, but it has been a foundation in American society.

Associations organize for all types of purposes, but there are some recurring benefits they typically provide their members, including:

  • Education/professional development
  • Information, research, statistics
  • Standards, codes of ethics, certification
  • A forum to discuss common problems and solutions
  • Opportunities to further a specific mission, including volunteering and community service
  • Providing a community of interest.
Mark E. Johnson helps answer the board’s questions on the expenses NPPA will still be responsible for at the Grady School of Journalism. [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/9 1/15]
With publications like newspapers and magazines going out of business in record numbers over the past five to ten years, the community has shrunk for working staff photographers.
 
I am sure I shocked many on the board when I decided to attend their open board meeting and sit and observe. It is like watching a sausage processing plant. Just as families around America had had conversations around their kitchen tables about cutting back when a spouse lost a job, the NPPA board was evaluating all items line by line on the budget.
 
The board voted on parts of the 2015 Annual Budget. [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/3.2 1/110]
As I drove to Athens, I admit I have been quite ambivalent about what I get for my membership. However, after sitting and listening to the board focus on the budget and then on my drive home, I realized that one of the core reasons those in the industry should support an association in these times is the same reason we started them years ago. One thing that continues to stand out as one of the most important reasons is “a forum to discuss common problems and solutions.”
 
Look through the bullet list and see if it makes sense to let an association like NPPA die or join and support the organization. What would fill the vacuum for the association’s role in our profession?
 
The industry’s biggest struggle is a lack of clear understanding of the direction we should be taking. So what specific mission do we now move towards?

I don’t think anyone has yet to find a crystal ball that gives insight into what we will be doing five or ten years from now. However, I think we are starting to realize the core things we do that aren’t related to gear for the first time in a very long time. We have defined so much of our industry by equipment, and now, with the daily changes, we are looking for the core skills we still have from the beginning of the profession that we will most likely continue.

Time for putting our heads together, I think, rather than doing this alone. Have you joined NPPA?

If not, go here to join https://nppa.org/join-nppa

Then get involved and be part of the discussion.