When police patrol protests in military gear, journalists face a hostile reporting environment
When St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographer David Carson was covering protests against police violence in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, he said other reporters often asked him what it was like to get teargassed night after night. These days, he told CPJ, he rarely gets asked that question: “Now all of my journalist friends have been teargassed.” Tear gassings, rubber…
Guide to legal rights in the U.S.
The following advice and recommendations are intended to give the reader a high-level understanding of the rights of a journalist when confronted by law enforcement officers while covering a protest or other political event. Given that these incidents often quickly escalate and that some – both protestors and police – do not always conform to legal…
CPJ, NLA launch initiative to boost reporting on press freedom in the U.S.
U.S. Press Freedom Accountability Project to award grants for coverage of attacks on journalists during Black Lives Matter protests New York, September 3, 2020– In light of recent unprecedented attacks on journalists around the United States, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in collaboration with the News Leaders Association (NLA), today launched the U.S. Press…
Outlawing TikTok may not impede journalists, but U.S. and India bans could set a risky precedent
“Allison, can Trump ban TikTok?” Dave Jorgenson, The Washington Post’s self-described “TikTok Guy” asks in an August 3 video on the app. His colleague Allison Michaels responds: “The answer is yes, but how he can do it is kind of complicated…” It would be a typical exchange between journalists, but for the surreal setup: Jorgenson is standing over a birdbath, asking…
‘We’re scared shitless out here’: Four reporters on covering the federal response to Portland protests
“This was civic combat, but without live fire.” That’s how freelance photographer John Rudoff described the situation in Portland, Oregon, the Pacific Northwest city where demonstrations in support of Black Lives Matter and against police brutality are now in their 13th week. Portland’s protests received global attention when they took a violent turn in July as…
Charges remain against journalists arrested during George Floyd protests
Washington, D.C., August 17, 2020 – Nearly three months after the height of national Black Lives Matter protests, at least six journalists are still facing charges stemming from their coverage, according to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists and its partner site, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. CPJ today called on state and municipal…
Tech platforms struggle to label state-controlled media
Twitter announced last week that it would start labeling some accounts run by media outlets and their top editors as “state-affiliated,” a descriptor intended to improve transparency about the source of information being shared on the platform. Since disinformation became a flash point in the debate over content moderation on social media, distinguishing propaganda from…
Amicus briefs support CPJ’s appeal in Khashoggi lawsuit
Nearly three dozen media and press freedom organizations, as well as 10 major human rights organizations and experts, have signed on to amicus briefs in support of CPJ’s appeal in its lawsuit seeking documents on whether U.S. intelligence agencies knew of threats to Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi before his murder by the Saudi government….
NYPD subpoenaed reporter’s phone records in leak case
New York, July 27, 2020 – The New York City Police Department should refrain from subpoenaing journalists’ phone records or other information that could reveal sourcing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 14, a New York-based freelance journalist who works for the Daily Mail received a letter stating that their phone records…
US federal law officers attack journalists covering protests in Portland
New York, July 24, 2020 – U.S. federal law enforcement agencies must ensure that journalists can cover protests freely, and must refrain from attacking members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. “All law enforcement agencies must stop using aggressive tactics against journalists covering protests in the United States,” said CPJ Program…