Re Up NPPA?

[Chicago Dog]

When was the last time you called your regional chair to help you rent a conference hall for a day?

I'm getting really tired of the argument that I should somehow have to "get involved" in order to benefit. I really am.

Can you give me one good reason why I should have to pay $110 a year to an organization in order to coordinate and host a conference myself? Why don't I just cut out the middle-man and host the event without paying the annual $110 fee? That money will go much further in paying for a conference hall than it would if I wrote out a check to the NPPA and then tried organizing a conference, that's for sure.

If the NPPA wants me to get involved, they most certainly should not be charging me $110 a year to do so.

What does the NPPA need to do? Take this back to the board Mike:

The NPPA needs to become a "video centric" organization. Swallow their still pride. Admit the world has changed. Suck it up. And become a video organiation.... primarily. Make video 75 percent of the content of the magazine, education, etc... and make still photography 25 percent.

That's just to throw out an idea. To get things moving in some direction. Action results in change. Take action. Make the NPPA a video organization.

Amen -- though I can't help but wonder how many eye-rolls an idea like that will elicit from the board.

 

[adam]

I'm getting really tired of the argument that I should somehow have to "get involved" in order to benefit. I really am.

Can you give me one good reason why I should have to pay $110 a year to an organization in order to coordinate and host a conference myself? Why don't I just cut out the middle-man and host the event without paying the annual $110 fee? That money will go much further in paying for a conference hall than it would if I wrote out a check to the NPPA and then tried organizing a conference, that's for sure.

If the NPPA wants me to get involved, they most certainly should not be charging me $110 a year to do so.

There wasn't an argument, I was simply inquiring about what happened the time you asked the NPPA to help you put on a training event. You ducked the question. Wise move considering the likely answer and your inability to debate from experience. I'm a paying member (some years me and some years my station) who is fine paying dues because I know I can help determine the course of the association and recognize the benefits of being involved (in any endeavor that I take on).

We couldn't have put on the conference without the NPPA. Everyone who participated in organizing the event knew each other because of the NPPA. We know what to teach because of the NPPA. We know how to teach because of the NPPA. Our bosses gave us time to do it because of the NPPA. The NPPA helped financially as well.

I'm not convinced the NPPA does want you involved. But if you decide to put on a conference in Chicago I would love to help, NPPA or not. They trained me and some others in the Midwest who are a whole lot more talented than I am and I'm guessing they'd love to help too. That's kind of how it works, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and the NPPA is the mortar that brings us together.

I can't reach out to you to help you in this endeavor since I don't know who you are but I'm pretty accessible.

 

[eb]

Dont bite Chicago Dog. Don't

The NPPA is good, for those who find it good. Average for those who find it average. And irrelevant to those who find it irrelevant.

I offer my opinions, and critiques...but want to reiterate the positive aspects of the magazine, and organization. I don't have the answers. I suggest moving toward a video centric organization, with emphasis on video on the NPPA website. That would be good, but how does that gain members and viewers, or make a profit?

Perhaps somebody would be able to produce an NPPA Video Magazine/Program, once a month, featuring a mixture of news, tips, contest winners, and a look back into the archives? That would be a good program I would like to watch. That's an idea.... a video magazine on the website.

Don't bite Chicago. Stay positive!

 

[svp]

For $110 the NPPA provides a magazine, discount on the workshop, and the chance to enter for awards while the organization lobbies on our behalf. Just to let you know, I get the exact same thing as a member of B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society) for $15 per year. Mostly because they are active in pursuing sponsorships for their organization instead of relying on their members to fund the entire organization. Sorry NPPA, there's nothing you can say that will get me to believe in your justification for such high annual dues. Drop the dues and go out and get companies like Sony, Panasonic, Avid, Apple, etc to sponsor the organizations initiatives like other organizations do. As a point of referrence, I wouldn't pay dues in excess of $50/year unless someone else was picking up the tab.

 

[adam]

For the record: I completely agree that $110 is too much. I agree that the NPPA desperately needs to move towards video posthaste. I agree with posts like SVP's, offering an idea with the criticism (NPPA has thousands of buying eyeballs on them, you'd think they could leverage a major sponsorship during the present video land grab).
What I can't agree with is anyone who disputes what I have personally experienced based on innuendo and conjuncture. Can you get $110 dollars worth of education and experience from the NPPA? Absolutely. Can anyone tell the people I know who have made huge professional leaps, because of the NPPA, that their time and money wasn't worth it? No.

 

[Chicago Dog]

There wasn't an argument, I was simply inquiring about what happened the time you asked the NPPA to help you put on a training event. You ducked the question. Wise move considering the likely answer and your inability to debate from experience.

The answer is no. I've never made a phone call to ask the NPPA to "help me" put on a training event. As I've stated numerous times already, I don't feel it's my responsibility to pay an organization a membership fee and then be expected to do all the work myself.

As a side, I find it unproductive and petty that you claimed I "ducked the question." It's an obvious effort to undermine my opinion rather than use the point-of-view I provided. That was a silly "gotcha" tactic, and it certainly didn't make you look good.

Everyone who participated in organizing the event knew each other because of the NPPA.

Nobody knew each other because they worked in the same stations? Nobody provided names of worthwhile photojournalists who could educate a roomful of people willing to learn how to further themselves?

There are plenty of ways to gather notables in one place. You can't sit there and tell me you're unable to network for yourself without the NPPA. Many other professionals network just fine without the help of the NPPA.

The NPPA helped financially as well.

I would love to see a breakdown of the funding as well as the number of people who attended the event. I'm very curious to see how much funding came from NPPA to help its video members out, especially after seeing this disappointing grant plan.

But if you decide to put on a conference in Chicago I would love to help, NPPA or not. They trained me and some others in the Midwest who are a whole lot more talented than I am and I'm guessing they'd love to help too. That's kind of how it works, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and the NPPA is the mortar that brings us together.

A rather unscrupulous consultant that frequents this forum is just itching to figure out who I am. As much as I'd like to prove how broken and archaic the NPPA is when it comes to conferences and educational opportunities, my hands are tied.

 

[Guy Critique]

Tough Decision

Over the years I have supported everything the NPPA stands for. I have contributed to contests by entering and judging while being honored with many awards. I have written for the magazine, hosted the first ever Airborne TV seminar, been a faculty member of the TV NewsVideo Workshop since 1993 and worked on countless other seminars. I have been a proud member since 1985.
Times now are financially tougher than ever, I have made the decision to not re up my membership.
I believe in the NPPA and especially subscribe to it's code of ethics.
I wish I could stay a member, for now it is a tough financial decision that has to be made.

 

[ShootingStacks]

Dave....you sent tv.nppa.org an email in Oct about entering for 3rd Qtr, just curious why you didn't enter?

 

[KsPhotog]

$9.17 a month

I'm coming in late to the game, but one thing I keep reading is bothering me. A lot of you are complaining about $110 a year. That's only $9.17 a month. What I do is add up my yearly bills like car insurance, tags, HOA dues, & NPPA dues and then divide it by 52.
Each week when I get paid (or my husband gets paid) I take that amount and put it into a separate savings account. Then when these bills are due, there is money available and I really didn't miss it throughout the year. Skip a coffee or burger once a month and you'll have the money when it comes due!
I have had year's when money is tight, but I've been doing this the last couple years and it's a great help!

 

[svp]

KsPhotog,

Or you could just have more taxes taken out of your check and learn to live with less so you get a bigger refund at the end of the year. I did that in 2009 and my refund last year was very nice.

 

[cameragod]

Well there is the new slogan. "The NPPA, it's cheaper than smoking and it won't give you cancer... or much else."

 

[svp]

Well there is the new slogan. "The NPPA, it's cheaper than smoking and it won't give you cancer... or much else."

Two thumbs up!

 

[goodfoot]

The scariest and most depressing thing to me about this thread is that such a talented and seasoned vet like Dave is having a hard time coming up with $110 for what could be considered a work related expense and tax write-off. A guy with his credentials should have no trouble booking high end freelance gigs with no problem. A major university would also be lucky enough to have Dave tenured as a professor to mentor the new generations of storytellers. There has to be some way to make a living and have some disposable income left, especially at his level.

That being said, I would have thought that after all the personal sacrifice and time spent helping others through the NPPA that they would have given him some sort of lifetime membership out of courtesy.

 

[Latin Lens]

My Facebook Response

The scariest and most depressing thing to me about this thread is that such a talented and seasoned vet like Dave is having a hard time coming up with $110 for what could be considered a work related expense and tax write-off. A guy with his credentials should have no trouble booking high end freelance gigs with no problem. A major university would also be lucky enough to have Dave tenured as a professor to mentor the new generations of storytellers. There has to be some way to make a living and have some disposable income left, especially at his level.

That being said, I would have thought that after all the personal sacrifice and time spent helping others through the NPPA that they would have given him some sort of lifetime membership out of courtesy.

Ozkar Palomo likes this....thumbs up...and agreed wholeheartedly.

 

[Tom Servo]

The scariest and most depressing thing to me about this thread is that such a talented and seasoned vet like Dave is having a hard time coming up with $110 for what could be considered a work related expense and tax write-off. A guy with his credentials should have no trouble booking high end freelance gigs with no problem. A major university would also be lucky enough to have Dave tenured as a professor to mentor the new generations of storytellers. There has to be some way to make a living and have some disposable income left, especially at his level.

That being said, I would have thought that after all the personal sacrifice and time spent helping others through the NPPA that they would have given him some sort of lifetime membership out of courtesy.

I think you just pointed out the two elephants in the room, didn't you.

I frankly find it absolutely abhorrent that someone with Dave's talent and work ethic should find himself at this stage of his career having to try and scrape together a hundred bucks for professional dues. Not many other careers expect you to be what this career expects without also expecting to have to compensate the workers for it. And it's not just Dave either. Let's not forget that Bob Brandon died broke, and it wasn't because the man had a lack of talent or drive.

It's bad enough that we have to sacrifice what we got into this career for - namely reporting news rather than the piffle that we're squawking about these days, but that we have to sacrifice our financial well-being and retirement as well is absolutely pathetic. I'm frankly amazed that anyone still stays in the business.

I also second your other point. That the NPPA expects Dave to pay them for all he does for them is absurd, and, frankly, indicative of poor and dimwitted management. Very rare is the organization that expects volunteers to pay for the privilege of doing endless hours of work for them for free. I'm disappointed in the NPPA for its callousness and lack of gratitude for all Dave has done for them.

 

[At the scene]

Although I do not know Dave’s financial situation I might take a guess that Dave can afford the dues. I think Dave maybe sending a message to the NPPA that he is not happy with the state of the NPPA as it stands. As many of you know Dave has been an intricate part of the NPPA for years and I think (just my opinion) that he is not going to publicly bash the NPPA like some of us, myself included but just make it clear enough that he’s not happy.
Just my thoughts, I could be totally off base here.





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[Guy Critique]

Bottom Line

While I am encouraged by the folks on this post who support me, my personal financial issues are my own. That being told, times are tough and being a divorced dad I have to make some tough choices and not renew.

What matters to me is I put my son first, and I am lucky to have a job at WCCO TV doing what I love to do and cherish every moment I get behind a viewfinder and sharing my craft.

Again, I subscribe to the ethics that the NPPA stands for and will continue to volunteer and give back when asked, I just can't afford to be a member at this time.

Dave Wertheimer

 

[ShootingStacks]

Hey Dave, you had inquired about entering this clip contest this year, just wondering why you didn't?

 

[Kent]

NPPA Membership # 8311

Dave -- I probably beat you on NPPA membership by a full decade. But I'm through too. I am the last photojournalist at KMSP who still is a member -- and my company doesn't cover our dues. Everything in my life costs more these days, and what little I get for my $ 110 just isn't worth it: I've entered contests, I've judged countless times, I volunteered when the Flying Short Course was in the Twin Cities and seemingly every year or two my dues go up.

Good luck NPPA, but you've managed to price yourself right out of my membership.

Kent Peterson
KMSP Television

 

[Wutangmaster]

Thanks Dave for all of his years of service in the NPPA. You have been a great teacher and I hope you continue to do so. Without guys like you living the dream I don't think I would have learned as much as I have.

Hope you come back soon.....Take care and good luck......