Resistance is mounting to a new NFL ruling that forces photojournalists to wear vests with the logos of NFL sponsors Canon and Reebok while shooting games.
“It totally goes against our Code of Ethics to force photographers to advertise as if they were some sort of NASCAR vehicle,” said John Long, the chair of National Press Photographers Association’s Ethics & Standards Committee. “We are independent gatherers of news, storytellers with no agendas. Our integrity comes from objectivity.”
An NFL spokesman took issue with the claim that the photographers would be walking billboards, noting that the logos were too small to be visible on TV and far smaller than what is often required of photographers covering other sports.
[via Ad Age and NPPA]
This seems like the proverbial slippery slope to me. Then again, what slopes aren’t slippery these days?