On 28 July, Chris Elliott, managing editor at Guardian News & Media (GNM), wrote to freelance and contract photographers to inform them that the company would cease paying reuse fees on their images.

Contract and freelance photographers working for The Guardian have protested the move by staging a protest in front of the newspaper's headquarters in London ealier this month and by refusing to sign the new contracts.

However, the protest has now found a new ally with Magnum Photos. 'We're in discussion with The Guardian regarding these new rules,' says a Magnum Photos spokeswoman. 'As you know, Magnum doesn't support that kind of terms and contracts.'

BJP understands that Magnum is drafting a letter protesting the changed. 'It's not the first time a newspaper has tried to do that kind of things,' says Magnum photographer Chris Steele-Perkins, who was one of the Magnum members to bring the issue to the agency's attention. 'It has happened many times, but in the past they always backed off.'

Steele-Perkins adds: 'They want to pay the equivalent of a three-hour plumbing job to do everything they want with a photographer's image.'

The Guardian says that the change is unavoidable. 'We are currently operating in unprecedented trading conditions and have been compelled to look at costs across the entire organisation,' The Guardian said in previous statements. It has also denied that the new rules represented a rights grab.

The new contract has been in place since 01 September. However, says Antonio Olmos, a contract photographer at The Guardian, 'we haven't agreed to the new contract, and we've got nowhere in terms of negotiations. If The Guardian is allowed to do this, than everybody will be doing it too.'

The protest has also taken the form of a petition, which has already gathered close to 1000 signatures.

The Guardian has declined to comment until it sees Magnum's letter, in the meantime, it says it has nothing to add to its previous statements (see related articles below).

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