Photographers on the frontline at LabourToday's Labour Party email bulletin - direct from Tony Blair, of course - begged: "If you could raise one issue with me..."

Actually there is something: What on earth is going on with your press office?

Firstly, it managed to antagonise conference photographers to the extent that they staged a mass walk-out shortly before the PM's speech yesterday.

Access to the hall during the leader's speech is usually restricted, even to those with full accreditation. But this year so few photographers were granted access using a seemingly random lottery system that all of them, around 30 or 40, decided to protest - by walking out en-masse during Charles Clarke's speech.

Fearing a PR white out, Labour's photographers' co-ordinator marched up to the press office and apparently sorted the situation, which was based on a wobbly health and safety point. But that's hardly the way to treat hardworking professionals. Particularly as Labour needs those pictures as much as the photographers need to take them.

Newsphotography.co.uk, the sister site to journalism.co.uk, has been covering the party conferences for 11 years but was only granted balcony access. We had to battle for two weeks to get full accreditation for our photographers to allow them to work properly on the conference floor - a real waste of both our time and theirs. But perhaps that's just a taste of the kind of bureaucracy that comes with ID card culture. So something to look forward to.

Secondly, Labour remains the only organisation that has ever turned down my request for an interview. I wanted to look at their plans for coverage of the conference, how labour.org.uk is used to attract new, younger voters, why it has abandoned blog coverage this year and why it is still the only major political site with no RSS news feed (even the BNP has one). But no.

And another thing: both the Lib Dems and Conservatives make their conference fringe guides available weeks before the event, which makes planning coverage and organising staff much easier. The Conservative guide is a handy A5 pocket size (perfect) and the Lib Dems is published online as a PDF. Both convenient and helpful.

The Labour guide is apparently available only on Saturday, the first day of the conference. Nothing about the fringe agenda is published on the site.

We're really not a fussy bunch, but we are trying to do a job.

A well-organised and transparent procedure for press accreditation and an intelligent and efficient staff is not too much to ask, is it? Conference is hard work enough.

Comments? Email me.



Comments

From Chris Smith, 14:44 29 September 2005

A traditional part of Labour’s conference for many years is the opportunity for party operatives to show just how deeply they despise journalists and photographers.

So the walk-out is no surprise.

The facilities are dire, courtesy is non-existent and the control-freakery is pumped to excess. The security is now obsessive beyond belief – and unsubtle with it.

I did the party conference rounds for three years and loathed every minute of it.

One favourite Labour trick is refusing to hand over a speech on the basis that it 'hasn’t been written yet'.

When Gerhard Schroeder was the guest speaker, that excuse was used until a German correspondent piped up: “Not true, the German Embassy emailed it to me this morning. It’s on my palm top I just can’t download it.”

He was inundated with offers with help, at which point copies of the very dull speech magically appeared.

All of this would be bearable if the event was actually newsworthy. The policy decisions are made elsewhere and rubber-stamped at less well-attended conferences in Easter to avoid the rows becoming public. The autumn conferences for years have been a stage-managed photocall that goes on for days – with the taxpayer picking up the tab for security.

I was offered the chance to attend this year but made it clear I’d rather drill my own eyeballs out.

Politicians from all three parties admit they hate the event but say head office needs the cash and the exposure. Hardly the most glowing testimonial for an event.

It’s time to bring the curtain down on this miserable charade.

From Chris Youett, 15:52 29 September 2005

I am a party member of over 30 years' standing and can say there is no excuse for the way my photographic colleagues were treated at this year's Labour Party Conference. There are plenty of NUJ members who have offered free consultancy over the years - and are lucky to get even a 'thanks, but no thanks' reply.

Over the years, there are many of us who can recall that Labour Party's management wouldn't even work with the NUJ to stop phoney 'journalists' including militant organisers getting press credentials. This has to change.

Labour has employed many excellent journalists and PR officers over the years: the NEC has to start listening to them & working with the NUJ to make sure that this never happens again.

From Serena Martin, 21:31 29 September 2005

Thank you for posting this information. I was beginning to think it was just campaigning groups who were being blocked by New Labour regards pertinent information release.
 
However, Tony Benn told us that these days, ministers' briefcases are searched before entering the Commons and any socialist literature found is removed. Also, as part of the NO2ID campaign, we've been asking the Home Office for schedule dates and locations for their current roadshow, featuring the dubious merits of biometric ID on passports. Still no answers. Something rather nasty is afoot with this much secrecy on a PR stint. 
 
However, it bodes well in a way that this party is antagonising journalists who need to recognise their responsibility to inform the public and the contempt shown by this party for anyone's views or profession within a democratic framework. 
 
Don't we pay them to deliver results in accordance with serving the civilians who pay them? It's all gone topsy-turvy with us being dragged into Iraq, threatened with shoot-to-kill and now the ID Cards Bill!
 
I'd call it an uncivil non-service, no matter how politely we are fobbed off. I'm confident that journalists will be encouraged to publish more controversial topics in the future as a result of the treatment they have received.
 
I live in hope!

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