New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists launches new program to issue press identification cards
By: Center For Cooperative Media
Tags: New Jersey, Press, Journalism, Media, Credentials

New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists launches new program to issue press identification cards

Obtaining a press ID card is not only a rite of passage for many people when they become professional journalists, it’s a critical form of identification. Having a press card can procure access to people and places ranging from athletes and high school sporting events to politicians and political rallies.

For the first time in a number of years, no New Jersey organization will be distributing press ID cards in 2021 in partnership with any state agency. Previously, the New Jersey Press Association issued police press passes to journalists across the state through an arrangement that involved the New Jersey State Police.

NJPA also will now only provide its members with a NJ press identification card, not journalists at large in the state, following a review of its policies by its board of directors. For independent reporters and photographers or those who work for news organizations that are not NJPA members, the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists (NJ-SPJ) has stepped up to fill the gap.

In late November, NJ-SPJ launched a new program to issue press ID cards to New Jersey media makers.

NJ-SPJ has been working with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) as part of a working group on press and law enforcement matters, including proper identification for journalists. According to NJ-SPJ, the OAG has praised NJ-SPJ’s participation in the working group and individuals displaying the NJ-SPJ Press Identification Card are expected to receive the similar courtesies offered to reporters with press passes in previous years.

For legal and insurance reasons, you must be a member of NJ-SPJ to qualify for a card. Thanks to a new arrangement approved by national SPJ, New Jersey new members can join the local organization as a full member and the national organization as an associate member for a total of only $30. The cost of the press pass is $35, bringing the total annual amount due to $65. The plastic press card comes with a one-inch wide reflective “PRESS” lanyard, which the Office of the Attorney General asked NJ-SPJ to provide. A car visor card is an extra $5.

The ID cards are intended for newsgatherers, including reporters, photographers and videographers, according to NJ-SPJ.

There are two categories in which you can apply; either as “media” or as a “professional journalist.” The designations are based on your qualifications, not your current employment, and are designed to be as inclusive as possible of various employment arrangements. One of the requirements for the professional journalist category includes submitting a letter about yourself; if you are an active member of the NJ News Commons, please note that!

Click here to learn more about eligibility and other requirements.

Bob Schapiro, president of NJ-SPJ and an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, said the issue of access to press ID cards is personal to him. His mother, journalist Edith Schapiro, was one of the first women to graduate from the Columbia School of Journalism and worked for Edward R. Murrow at CBS before becoming the first woman to be an editor at the Newark News in the 1950s. She returned to the workforce in the 1970s freelancing in New York for the Paris-based International Herald Tribune.

“She could not get a credential. New Jersey said she worked in New York, New York said she lived in New Jersey and the United Nations said she needed a local card before they would even consider her,” Schapiro said. “This sort of thing still happens to freelancers. No one should slip through the cracks like that.”

Through our NJ News Commons program, we know many of our members have needed access to press ID cards in the past and have struggled to get them. We’re hopeful this new NJ-SPJ program will help, especially for digital-native hyperlocal publishers, ethnic and community media outlets and freelancers.