Oh, Bey.
The superstar's new policy banning press photographers from covering her worldwide tour has been causing headaches for some news organizations.
After photos that Beyonce's publicist deemed "unflattering" were published online after the Super Bowl, the singer decided to ban photojournalists from The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. She hired her own official photographers and have been disseminating images of the various concerts to news organizations.
But that still poses issues for both Beyonce and the media. Beyonce's team can't control the existence of unofficial photos taken by fans in the audience with cameras. For the media, the lack of variety in the photographs can be disappointing. The media is used to relying on wire services, which typically involves photographers from places like Getty and AP filing multiple photographs quickly from which news organizations choose. When Beyonce's tour kicked off in Serbia last month, her management company released only two photographs from the first show.
On behalf of 19 news media organizations, the National Press Photographers Association general counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher penned a letter to Beyonce's publicity firm protesting the singer's ban on photojournalists and TV crews. He wrote:
While we understand your desire to maintain control over your client's image as part of her 'public relations' we hope that you will appreciate and respect our position. As representatives of the world's preeminent journalism organizations, representing publications and broadcasters and their employees, we believe the public is best served by maintaing our independence rather than relying on hand-out photos of these events.
The letter was written on behalf of news organizations including the Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio, Inc., The New York Daily News, WNET, Radio Television Digital News Association and more.
Beyonce had to cancel her Tuesday show in Belgium, reigniting rumors that the singer might be pregnant again. Beyonce's publicist told news outlets that the superstar was exhausted and dehydrated.
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