NPPA Sanctions A Former President

The National Press Photographers Association leadership placed one of its former presidents on "probation" and took the unusual step of publicly announcing the ruling in a statement on its web site.

The NPPA Judiciary Committee, acting on input from the NPPA Executive Committee, took the action against David Handschuh, a photographer for the New York Daily News.

According to the statement on the NPPA web site, the Judiciary Committee found that Handschuh misled the Executive Committee as it investigated an expense report Handschuh submitted to the organization.

The Judiciary Committee placed Handschuh on probation, which means he cannot hold a leadership position within NPPA, serve on a committee, speak at an NPPA-sponsored event, act as an NPPA spokesperson or submit expenses or handle NPPA funds, according to the statement. Handschuh can ask to have his probation reviewed after two years. Handschuh says currently he holds no leadership or committee positions in the NPPA.

The Judiciary Committee was initially investigating the propriety of an expense report Handschuh filed, and found him not guilty of that charge.

"I was found not guilty of filing a false expense report," Handschuh said. "They're really making a mountain out of a molehill." Handschuh said he is considering whether to appeal the ruling.

In an e-mail responding to quesstions from PDN, NPPA president Alicia Calzada declined to explain Handschuh's case in any detail beyond the statement on the NPPA web site. Asked why the NPPA had posted a statement about it, she wrote, "We are honest with our members on matters that are relevant to them."

The ruling does not affect Handschuh's work with the New York Press Photographers Association, a separate organization. The NYPPA was recently involved in collecting supplies and camera gear for photographers affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Handschuh, who broke his leg while covering the Sept. 11 terror attack in New York, has been an advocate for photojournalists who have to deal with traumatic situations.

In fact, the event that sparked this whole investigation was Handschuh's decision to attend a conference sponsored by the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma.

Handschuh submitted an expense report for $240.70 to cover the cost of a plane ticket to Florida for the September 2004 conference, according to an internal NPPA document obtained by PDN.

Several issues complicated the expense report. First, Handschuh filed the report after he bought the ticket but before he flew to Florida. In the mean time, a hurricane caused the Dart conference to be postponed by about a month. Handschuh used the ticket anyway to travel to Florida and visit the Tampa Tribune and The Poynter Institute, according to the document.

In October 2004, when the Dart conference was rescheduled, Handschuh flew to Florida again and did not bill the NPPA for that ticket, according to the document.

The NPPA Executive Committee later asked Handschuh for a report on the Dart conference, which he gave as if he had been there. In fact, according to the document, Handshuh had been in Tampa, apparently to attend the conference, but fell ill and was unable to be there. "He couldn't go to the conference and was embarrassed to discuss it," said a source familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Handschuh later admitted to lying to the Executive Committee and wished he had handled the issue more prudently, according to the document.

The Executive Committee asked the Judicial Committee to investigate Handschuh's expense report, and the committee found nothing wrong. The Executive Committee also asked the Judicial Committee to consider Handschuh's conduct in giving misleading information, which led the Judicial Committee to sanction Handschuh with probation, according to the statement on the web site.

Given a chance to respond to this account, Handschuh declined to comment beyond his initial statement.

The source familiar with the case said it was a shame Handschuh had been caught in a deception over a relatively small matter.

"He's like the Scooter Libby of the NPPA," the source said.

NPPA members are expected to follow a code of ethics that stresses truthfulness.

The decision to put Handschuh on probation, rather than do nothing or kick him out of the organization entirely, has caused debate within the NPPA leadership, according to NPPA sources. Likewise, some members were upset that the NPPA decided to publicly announce that it had sanctioned Handschuh.