Prime Social Group is attempting to control what the reader sees by asking journalists to sign its strict media agreement.
Post editors have written variations of this editorial for at least a couple years now.
The message stays the same: We strongly stand against Number Fest’s ridiculously strict media policy, which demands photographers put the Prime Social Group watermark on their photos and that they send all photos to the group for “approval” before posting.
At this point, there is no way that Prime Social Group is unaware of the ethical dilemmas surrounding what journalists and media law experts refer to as prior review, which consists of sending content to a source before posting it to a website or social media.
By asking journalists to sign its media agreement, Prime Social Group is attempting to control what the reader sees. It’s not up to the group’s organizers to determine what’s newsworthy.
Our photographers won’t be there Friday and Saturday, and we hope other local media outlets act similarly. We should never bow to such ridiculous demands for access, or imply that we can be bought.
On that note, we won’t be accepting free media passes for the event. Our newsroom will pay to send two reporters to attend, and those reporters will interview concert attendees outside of The Venue. We’ll still get a story to the reader, just not in the most convenient of ways. Additionally, we’ll have reporters and photographers documenting the trek to and from the show.
Lucky for us, it’s completely within our right to report and document what we see on public property. It’s a shame that Prime Social Group would attempt to review and censor images taken by journalists within The Venue, and in turn, attempt to control the narrative of our reporting.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Emma Ockerman, Managing Editor Rebekah Barnes and Digital Managing Editor Samuel Howard. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
