News Media on Private Property - What is legal & illegal?

[James Emory]

Now I know that you can shoot video anywhere as long as you're physically on public property or in the air overhead. But, the other day, I saw a Fox News reporter following a person into their garage asking one question after another. How can they get away with that? You would think they would know better, or maybe they do know better. Couldn't you tell them if they used one frame of audio/video shot while actually on your property that you could sue them for trespassing? How about when they come to the front door while rolling tape and ambush someone at least getting them answering the door? Is there some kind of rule that says they can initially attempt to contact you at your front door or anywher ON your property or follow you onto your property and only have to leave after they are told at least once? If that's the case, then they apparently could use whatever was recorded up to when they were told to leave without penalty?

[James Emory]

I guess if you have a posted sign that says NO TRESPASSING and they do it anyway you could bring charges easier. But if there's no visbile warning and they follow you onto your property or come to your front door before you have warned them, I guess that is when they have to leave. I don't think coming onto the property is as much of an issue as what they may have recorded while and up to approaching the property owner. In other words they could say, well we didn't record anything AFTER we were told to leave. So my question is should anything recorded up and to the point of contact while on private property be able to be used even after they are told to leave?

[Mark Bournes]

Having worked many years in the news industry I can tell you from experience, that once they respond and tell you have to leave, you are not allowed back on their property. Actually if they come to your door rolling tape and you say it then it's "on record" as well. The best thing people can do is to not answer the door, or post a no trespassing sign. The problem is that news crews tend to "ambush" people in extreme circumstances and people aren't thinking straight to tell the news crews that they are trespassing. I always HATED doing that, but you have insensitive producers and assignment editors that insist on you doing this.

This is one of the many reasons I got out of news and would never go back.
The song "dirty laundry" always comes to mind..."get the widow on the set"

Here in Florida many of the communites are gated and news crews have no access to your home. However if you live elsewhere and they ask you to leave, there is nothing from stopping them from parking a live truck across the street and setting up on the sidewalk.

Watch any local news and you'll see them try and interview the victims mother, then set up across the street from the house and do their live shot.

If you tell them to leave and they continue to come back that's when you can call the police. I worked with 1 reporter who got reprimanded all the time by the police for harassing people this way.

It's an UGLY business. Man the stories I could tell....

[Greg Boston]

Mark's response pretty much nails it. As for the 'other' comments prior, those have been deleted as that sort of content has no place on DVINFO.

Thanks for providing the voice of experience, Mark.

regards,

-gb-