Priced Himself Out

RichVid

Well-known member
We had a tractor-trailer, fully loaded, plunge off a freeway, blast across an offramp, and plow into a gas station this morning...luckily, no one was killed and there were no explosions...still, a bunch of parked cars and property got smashed...the driver of the truck had a seizure, which caused the crash, and there was medication in the truck for seizures (You CAN'T drive a truck in this state if you have seizures)...

Anyway, the owner of the gas station had surveillance cams (color) at about 5 fps which did a pretty good job of capturing the whole crash on tape... It won't make air though, because the owner of the gas station wanted/wants $500 a pop for the stations for this footage...as far as I know no one's making the deal...They wanted to pay the standard $150 and probably would've come up to $250 or 3... The guy held his ground and hasn't made any sales...shouldn't he have sold it anyway? I mean, there's always the aftermarket where they pay more for that stuff whether or not you sell it to local news... He coulda made upwards of a grand pretty easy... oh well....ON TO THE NEXT SPOT STORY!
 

Natural Born Stringer

Well-known member
Geez, what a butthead. $500? Please.... :rolleyes:

Of course, these are the same guys who charge you $6.00 for a bottle of tylenol or $7 for a pkg of tampons (No snickering you guys.. every married man has made that purchase at least once during a road trip...) So this isn't all that surprising.
 

Dedline

Well-known member
If he knew so much, he mighta called the national cable outlets. If they had a human interest story lined up with it, they'd have billed it as a "survivor" story. Heck tell the guy you'll be his agent to Dateline or 20/20.
 

jbar

Member
Obviously, he doesn't need the money and set his price...unlike most people that give their footage away, including stringers. I say good for him.

I had a reporter contact me last year to buy some rare animal footage to complete her feature. She had such a 'greater than thou' stuck-up, conceited reporter attitude...I told her NO. She freaks out asking how I could turn her down...blah, blah, blah...screw her. It pisses me off when news people act like we owe it to them to sell footage, not for news, but because of 'who' they are. I laugh everytime I see her.
 

bluffton

Well-known member
Better yet, once the police have it for evidence, the stations will just put in a FOIA request and get it for free from the cops.

He is a silly person. We'll get our footage. Whether we pay today, or get it free tomorrow.
 

shootist

PRO user
Of course, these are the same guys who charge you $6.00 for a bottle of tylenol or $7 for a pkg of tampons (No snickering you guys.. every married man has made that purchase at least once during a road trip...) So this isn't all that surprising. [/QB]
no hijack...just for the record. been married 15 years...with my wife for 18 and seriously involved with the opposite sex for over 30 years.

I have never bought a tampon.........

and damn proud of it..... :D
 

FTOJRLST

Well-known member
Originally posted by bluffton:
Better yet, once the police have it for evidence, the stations will just put in a FOIA request and get it for free from the cops.

He is a silly person. We'll get our footage. Whether we pay today, or get it free tomorrow.
You have raised an interesting situation. Doesn't this video still belong to the guy(gas station) or not?

What if you or I, as individuals, had a security cam on our homes and we caught something(crime or accident) on tape that was of news value and the cops also needed it as evidence?

OR

What if, while working freelance on any given story, you catch something on camera that also could be construed evidence?

Certainly if you watch the Caught on Tape shows you see security cam footage all the time.

Where is the line between evidence that is public record for airing and private property that can be had for a price?

I would personally catch a crime on tape(let's say on my personal time gathering generic shots or whatever), just to have the cops yank my tape as evidence, and it to end up on the news with no comp for me.
 

Natural Born Stringer

Well-known member
Originally posted by shootist:
no hijack...just for the record. been married 15 years...with my wife for 18 and seriously involved with the opposite sex for over 30 years.

I have never bought a tampon.........

and damn proud of it..... :D
That's OK, I'm sure I've bought enough to compensate. Plus I have a daughter as well so soon I'll be buying twice as many (and listening to twice the bitching, complaining, screaming and yelling). Maybe I'll have enough left over to pay for a hotel room once a month so my son and I can get a night or two of peace and quiet.

Ain't family life grand? :D
 

INLANDNEWS

Well-known member
As far as I am concerned anything coming from any cameras I OWN and USED FOR BROADCAST on TELEVISION will cost money. I make copies of incidents for Police and Fire to use as training and evidence all the time. It is made very clear to them that the video MAY NOT BE USED FOR BROADCAST or DISTRIUBTION.
 

Terry E. Toller

Well-known member
If the stations get the tape from the cops and air it, the guy will make a fortune! He owns that tape! Even if the cops use it as evidence, it still belongs to the owner of the station. Legally, you don't need to file papers to claim copyright on pictures, it's automatic when the image is created.

Years ago I saw video on Real TV of a burglary at a pawn shop. A friend of mine owns the shop. I called and asked how much he got from RTV for his video. He didn't even know it was used.

Turns out that a detective from the City Police SOLD the video from the evidence locker to RTV. So illegal, theft!!!

Anyway, my friend ended up getting a $5,000 settlement from the police and he claims he got the same from RTV for using is video without license... He rewarded me for my legal help with a 12 pack of diet coke...

[ August 08, 2005, 08:23 PM: Message edited by: Terry E. Toller ]
 

ewink

Well-known member
Originally posted by Terry E. Toller:
He rewarded me for my legal help with a 12 pack of diet coke...
Hell...

If I ever get arrested can I send you a case as a retainer?
 

SpotNews

Member
I think the courts might see a difference in video evidence released and used for news purposes versus entertainment. As evidence in court, once it's introduced, it public record and available for news use -- protected by law. An entertainment show has has no such protection. Shows like Inside Edition might have some legal standing, but I think its a little muddy if they're protected.

As for a police department releasing video to RTV, they have no right to do so unless it's video shot by them.
 

Austin Reeves

Active member
Originally posted by INLANDNEWS:
As far as I am concerned anything coming from any cameras I OWN and USED FOR BROADCAST on TELEVISION will cost money. I make copies of incidents for Police and Fire to use as training and evidence all the time. It is made very clear to them that the video MAY NOT BE USED FOR BROADCAST or DISTRIUBTION.
Well I don't want to disappoint you but, atleast in FLORIDA, if something is admitted as evidence... it don't matter WHAT you tell them about rebroadcasting it. Evidence is public domain and except for sex crimes, free to the media almost 100%.. The only disuading factor is depending on the agency it can be available that afternoon or in 3 weeks.

ATR
 

Stormgod

Active member
Well, if the cops what it as evidence, they better have a court order or no dice. It will take them time to get one, by then, you footage has already aired. There are trade offs, if the officer is one who had treated me ok in the past at crime scenes, then maybe a copy without an order, but if its a trooper who has been a pain, show me the order sucker! Its a two way street out there.
 

Baltimore Shooter

Well-known member
Originally posted by jbar:
Obviously, he doesn't need the money and set his price...unlike most people that give their footage away, including stringers. I say good for him.
I agree, teh stations can afford it, it'll get them BIG ratings. Try describing that on air w/o any video...BORING! I don't blame the guy, I would have done the same thing.

Warren
 

Tazam77

Well-known member
Way to go!! Seems high though. At least he knew to charge and held to it. Everybody else would just want to see their stuff on Teee Veee and sc**wed themselves out of money. TV shouldn't take advantage. "send us your phone video" Good to see he's smarter then that.

[ October 04, 2005, 11:16 PM: Message edited by: Tazam77 ]
 

RichVid

Well-known member
Standing fast is admirable...on the other hand, he probably could've got about $250 a pop...multiply that times 7 (stations that prob would've paid that) and he's got a nice chunk of change...oh well, there's always Nash Entertainment-they pay $500 for AMAZING VIDEOS...
 
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