Commentary Rights of a photographer In last week’s issue, you may have


noticed a cutline under our front- page picture depicting the stacks of the concrete plant being construct- ed in Flat Creek that read: “Picture used with permission from Blue Ridge Concrete.” While the image was innocuous


Matt Tate


enough, the manner in which it was obtained was not. An intern working with the


newspaper this summer stopped by to take a picture and without understanding the implications of their actions, they went onto the plant’s private property to snap im- ages. A Blue Ridge Concrete employee


noticed the photographer’s pres- ence. Te following day we dis- cussed the matter with both the photographer and a Blue Ridge Concrete attorney, eventually se- curing the plant’s permission to use the photo. While the picture was nearly


identical to a picture that could have been obtained by clicking away from the opposite side of the road, we erred and apologized to the attorney for our misstep in judgment. It is important to be aware of the


photographer’s rights when work- ing in this field. Legal boundaries are generally


liberal in regards to protecting the photographer’s right to cover a story. Te general rule is that anyone


they are secluded in places where they could expect to have a reason- able amount of privacy such as in their homes or in restrooms. Tere is very little excluded when


a photographer is doing their job on public property including snapping images of accident and fire scenes, children and, in our case, commer- cial construction. If we had been on the opposite


side of the street, we could have taken all the pictures we wanted. But on private property, the owners were well within their legal rights to prohibit our actions. Given the broad scope, it is im-


portant for photographers and publications to have set rules on what they will or will not print. For instance, we often cover ac-


cident scenes, but we maintain our distance to allow the emergency personnel the space they need to work, and we will refrain from publishing graphic or macabre im- ages out of consideration for both the victims and the community. Because the legal guidelines are


vast, these ethical photography judgments are vital in providing moral fiber in the newsroom.


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4 THE TRIBUNE - August 5 - August 11, 2010


may take photographs of whatever they want when they are in a pub- lic place or places where they have permission to take photographs, absent a specific legal prohibition such as a statute or ordinance. Members of the public have lim- ited scope of privacy rights unless


Our Mission


Our mission at The Weaverville Tribune is to deliver fair and accu- rate articles on the people, places, and events in North Buncombe. We hope to help further a sense of commu- nity and understanding for the residents of the area..


PO Box 2293 • Weaverville, NC 28787 Volume 8, Issue 31


The Weaverville Tribune is a publication of Tribune Papers in association with Mountain Sentinel, Inc. Publisher & Sr.Editor Editor


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Clint Parker Matt Tate


Patrick Braswell Pat Starnes


editor@weavervilletribune.com www.weavervilletribune.com Mail: P.O. Box 2293


Weaverville, NC 28787


The Weaverville Tribune is published weekly by The Asheville Tribune and Mountain Sentinel, Inc. at 40 N. Merrimon Avenue, Suite 308, Asheville, NC 28804. It can be picked up at 40 N. Merrimon Avenue and many other locations throughout Buncombe County. Periodical postage USPS permit No.023736 at the Weaverville, NC Post Office. POSTMASTER send address changes to The Weaverville Tribune, PO Box 2293, Weaverville, NC 28787. Subscription price $24.99 a year in Buncombe County, $25.99 a year outside Buncombe County, $26.99 a year outside North Carolina.


Letters to the Editor Park’s owners seek to clarify issues


Dear Editor, We have worked hard this past year to fix up the


[Ponder or C “N” C Mobile Home Park]. We have spent over $20,000 in clean up and repairs which we have records of everything we have completed. We have only been owners of the park for less than


two years. It will be two years in October. My wife’s father passed on in October of 2008 which was hard on the family and my wife’s health do to her chrones [sic] disease. Te estate was supposed to pay the back taxes on the


park which it did not and was a big strain on the park. We paid all back taxes on the property. Te park has come a long way. We had a few bad apples in the park which were not


easy to deal with. Te park has managed to weed out the tenants that were violating park rules and town ordinances. Jason Young himself said he would help with those


tenants but never did. It would have helped the pro- cess move much faster. In just this short time we have added city water and have fixed all of the town’s is- sues with the park. Te park responded to the suit it started in 2009 and never heard a thing back not even a walk-through of the park to see if the town had any more issues. If they had, we could have shown all that we had completed to make the park a clean and safe place to live. Te park has added an office and are on site every-


day and are still working hard on improving the park. Even the park’s tenants are helping which is a bless- ing.


Te park was even able to bring back a dumpster af-


ter getting out the tenants who were illegally dumping which forced us to start hauling trash off. Te park has good tenants now and some who have


been here for over 20 years. Tey don’t deserve to have to move or lose their home. Te park is going to continue to improve everyday


and fight to keep our tenants in their homes. We feel what the town is doing is unjustifiable. We


have no problem dealing with any iusses [sic] that the town has with the park. We hope the town is willing to work with us.


Its been a year now since our last walk-through. Just


a letter saying that they want to shut us down. We were in the town weeks before their meeting to shut down the park to renew our licence [sic]. Tat would have been a good time to do a walk-through. Tey had a meeting on this matter and did not even let us know. Tat was not justifiable to the park or its tenants.


Joshua Robinson


Cynthia Ponder Robinson Fallston, NC


Party is out-of-touch


Dear Editor, When did it become okay to attack the unem-


ployed? Lately it seems that unemployed Americans are un-


der constant attack from Republicans. Sitting Sena- tors, candidates for the Senate and House, and right wing leaders are making the claim that people who don’t have a job are lazy. As if unemployment wasn’t hard enough, Americans most in need of help are sub- jected to insults by an out of touch party. Recently, GOP Senator Richard Burr made that


claim. Tis from a person who’s never had to live pay- check to paycheck. Te claim is an insult to the mil- lions of Americans who are looking for work after the same Republicans drove our economy into the ditch. He needs to apologize. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs because of


reckless Republican policies. We’re fed up! Tis behavior is wrong. It is disgust-


ing. It’s an embarrassment that Sen. Burr thinks he can get away with it. Whether you’re unemployed now, had to settle for a lower-paying job or have family members who are looking for a job, send a message to Burr. We’re fed up with rich elites criticizing working Americans who are trying to find work in the worst economy since the great depression. We need to stand together against these right wing


insults by remembering to vote against them in No- vember.


Jerry Edwards Asheville, NC


Phone or Fax


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