• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, February 6, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home National

Anxiety Rises Over Attacks on Media Covering US Protests

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
06/03/20
in National
Anxiety Rises Over Attacks on Media Covering US Protests

Smoke rises around a protester holding up their hands in front of a row of police during a demonstration against the death of George Floyd at a park near the White House in Washington, DC. Photo: Roberto Schmidt/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A wave of attacks on journalists covering US protests is driving growing anxiety in the media, with some blaming President Donald Trump for creating an atmosphere that encourages violence.

Over the past week, media watchdogs have logged scores of incidents of police violence against journalists — with crews shot at, beaten, kicked, pepper-sprayed, or arrested — with many incidents captured on camera.

An open letter to law enforcement endorsed by 18 press freedom organizations including the National Press Club and Committee to Protect Journalists called for a halt to “the deliberate and devastating targeting of journalists in the field.”

A tally by media watchdog groups cited 192 press freedom violations during the latest wave of protests including 131 assaults, of which 108 were by police. The tally included 31 arrests, 46 firings of rubber bullets, 30 cases of damage to equipment, 30 incidents of tear gas, and 17 pepper sprayings.

Some media advocates say Trump’s persistent bashing of the mainstream press has opened the door to attacks by undermining the credibility of journalists covering the protests following the police killing of a black man in Minnesota last week.

“This definitely creates an atmosphere where you are likely to see attacks on reporters,” said Len Downie, a former Washington Post executive editor who is a professor at Arizona State University and authored a study earlier this year on the Trump administration and the media.

Downie said that while Trump may not explicitly encourage violence against the press, his harsh rhetoric “deepens the divide” over credibility. “The country is split between those who believe the president and those who believe the press,” he said.

‘I’m With the Press!’

Some stunned journalists took to Twitter recounting mistreatment, while others posted videos.

“After showing my badge and yelling ‘I am with the press’ a @RichmondPolice officer sprayed pepper spray in my face and shoved me to the ground. Had 3397 on his helmet,” tweeted radio reporter Roberto Roldan of Richmond, Virginia.

One video showed an Australian TV crew being pushed to the ground by police near the White House in Washington.

How many journalists have been attacked this weekend? Vice reporter gets pepper sprayed in the face while on the ground shouting “press” and holding up his ID card. pic.twitter.com/KZdlaeCv0i

— Alex Kantrowitz (@Kantrowitz) May 31, 2020

“This is alarming,” said National Press Club president Michael Freedman. “The instances I’ve seen have all included journalists playing by the rules, and we hope officials on the other side play by the same standards.”

Patricia Gallagher Newberry, president of the Society of Professional Journalists, said Trump’s attacks have had a “harmful effect.” Instead of attacking the media, elected officials “should speak out in defense of journalists and call on the community to protect journalists,” Newberry said.

“This is not supposed to happen in the United States of America. We have press freedom built into our Constitution. So to see police and protesters attacking the storytellers is shocking, is disheartening, is illegal and it is really disturbing.”

Making Things Worse

Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, also highlighted the importance of the Trump attacks on media. “While Trump didn’t make covering US protests dangerous, he has made the situation worse,” Simon wrote in a column for the Columbia Journalism Review.

“It is certainly possible that the president’s anti-media rhetoric has emboldened local police, who are attacking and arresting journalists at a pace not seen in recent history. And it is also possible that some protesters who have attacked journalists are Trump supporters motivated by his denunciations of fake news.”

When journalists are attacked, societies are attacked.

No democracy can function without press freedom nor can any society be fair without journalists who investigate wrongdoing and speak truth to power.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 30, 2020

The latest incidents come with many media outlets taking an economic hit from the virus pandemic while struggling to keep readers informed on critical issues.

Media advocates say the shocking incidents underscore an erosion of respect for the constitutional guarantees of free press in recent years.

“The scenes that played out across the country over the last week cannot be covered from a ‘safe’ distance,” said Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild, the union representing thousands of journalists.

“Reporters and photographers understand the risks and don’t expect special treatment. But attacking them for newsgathering is an unconstitutional attack on all Americans.”

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023
Opinion

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

by Matthew J. Mayer
February 3, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York
Opinion

George Santos for Speaker!

by Stephen J. Lyons
January 16, 2023
Top view of the US House of Representatives
National

Chaos as US House Adjourns Without Choosing Speaker

by Staff Writer
January 4, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines
Opinion

Eight Billion and Counting…

by Stephen J. Lyons
November 29, 2022
US President Donald Trump
Opinion

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 17, 2022
Protesters stand with placards in front of the statue of India's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, central London, after a demonstration outside the US Embassy
Featured

Considering the Patience of Gandhi for These Troubled Times

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 5, 2022
Next Post
What’s Happening With Contact Tracing?

What’s Happening With Contact Tracing?

Rohingya Refugees Running Scared From Coronvirus Tests

Rohingya Refugees Running Scared From Coronvirus Tests

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

Syrian rescuers and civilians search for victims and survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building, in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province on the border with Turkey, early on February 6, 2023. Syrian rescuers (White Helmets) and civilians search for victims and survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building

Quake Kills Over 1,200 Across Turkey, Syria

February 6, 2023
Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
A supporter of nurses' strike and NHS holds a placard

UK Faces Fresh Mass Strikes as Wage Talks Derail

February 1, 2023
Israeli security forces in Jerusalem

Palestinian Gunman Kills 7 in East Jerusalem Synagogue Attack

January 30, 2023
The Doomsday Clock reads 100 seconds to midnight, a decision made by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, during an announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 23, 2020

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closest Ever to Midnight

January 25, 2023
Police work near the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California

California Lunar New Year Mass Shooter Dead, Motive Unclear: Police

January 23, 2023

Opinion

Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines

Eight Billion and Counting…

November 29, 2022
Mahsa Amini protests

Imagining a Free Iran

October 24, 2022
Vladimir Putin

How 18th Century International Law Clarifies the Situation in Ukraine

September 29, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Falling for Putin

September 15, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post