Freedom of The Press Under Attack Again! #168
By Hank Silverberg
The words of the First Amendment are pretty clear. They have stood up pretty well since the Bill of Rights officially became part of the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791.
But from time to time though, various elements of this very simple but very important human right, have been pushed to the limit in this country. And we are there once again today.
We saw it this past week in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota when police harassed and even arrested reporters who were covering protests in the Minneapolis suburb after yet another police shooting.
Credentialed journalists were rounded up by police, forced to lie on their stomachs and had their face and credentials photographed.
Brooklyn Center protests: Police round up journalists (usatoday.com)
This happened Friday night about 30 minutes after the police had ordered about 500 peaceful demonstrators to leave the area where they were protesting the shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20 year old back man killed during a traffic stop by a white police officer last week.
It came even though a judge had ordered the Minnesota State Police to stop using physical force or chemical agents against journalists after some of the media were harassed and roughed up by the law officers earlier in the week.
There were numerous incidents on Tuesday night, including an assault on CNN Producer Carolyn Sung. She was grabbed by her backpack and thrown to the ground by state troopers as she was trying to comply with the dispersal order.
She was zipped-tied while a trooper kept yelling at her "Do you speak English?" Sung, who is of Asian decent, had repeatedly identified herself as a CNN journalist and complained several times in English about the tightness of the zip ties. She was arrested, taken to a local jail, finger printed, patted down and even run through a body scan and forced to change into prison garb before eventually being released two hours later. It should also be noted that a white male security guard who works with her, was questioned by police and released right away.
Elsewhere, several media members were dragged from their cars by police officers and arrested as they tried to leave the scene. A New York Times photographer says police tried to break his camera as he attempted to leave.
It should be noted that some of the demonstrators were not friendly to reporters either, which is why Sung had a security guard with her. In several cases, protestors threw water bottles or other objects at members of the press and verbally harassed them. And over 100 protestors were arrested after breaching a fence around the police headquarters. But that is a separate issue.
It's the action of the police which is a more dangerous scenario. The police represent the government, and by law the government can not interfere with media coverage. The federal court judge, in a restraining order issued Friday night, ruled specifically that a dispersal order like the one that set the entire police assault in motion, does not apply to reporters covering a protest.
I could detail several more reported attacks by police on the media during these protests and several last summer, but I want to focus here on the general attitude that continues to threaten press freedom.
Reporters are trained to follow some basic rules when they are out in the field at events like this. They are told to always wear their credentials around their necks, even though this makes them an easy target for troublemakers in the crowd. They are trained to refrain from any angry reaction to abuse by protestors and avoid physical contact unless it's needed to escape a dangerous situation. But they are free to cover the event and go into the crowd when necessary. If police ask reporters to move back they are trained to comply in a reasonable manner. But "reasonable" does not always mean immediate, especially when they are carrying thousands of dollars worth of equipment or if moving away puts them in harm's way.
At times this creates tension with police. But police officers should know the difference between a protestor and the press. The line can blur from time to time, but it's usually pretty clear. I've been in situations like this, I know.
Frankly, there is NO excuse for what these cops did. They were dressed from the start in full riot gear. Force should only be used by police when they or those they are sworn to protect are in physical danger. Such was the case for the U.S. Capitol Police on January 6th.
But reporters pose no physical danger to the police or property. There is no excuse for assaulting or arresting them.
All the apologies or clarifications from higher-ups or politicians that have been issued in the Minnesota incident are useless.
It is clear that police, more often these days, consider the media their enemy and that is simply not true. The media is NO ONE'S enemy. Reporters are there to cover the event. They will talk to demonstrators and walk among them. They will talk to the police and walk among them and comply with reasonable requests that still allow them to do their job. That is what they get paid to do.
Often these days, both demonstrators and police are trying to attack the messenger because they don't like the message.
It is not uncommon for demonstrations to be made up of various types of people, some of whom are not there to express their support, but rather are there to do nothing but cause trouble for everyone. We saw that at some of the BLM protests last summer and even more so at the pro-Trump assault on the Capitol Building in January.
Members of the media knows this and do their job despite the risk. The police know this too, but they rarely acknowledge it. Lately many police officers seem to look at anyone at a public protest who is not in a police uniform as a law breaker.
But the police are public servants who take an oath to uphold the law, not break it. Assaulting reporters is breaking the law.
The danger to our country is not from the messenger at responsible news organizations.
The danger is from those who misuse or distort the message, whether it be a police officer or a president or someone who claims to be a journalist but really isn't.
Unfortunately, all of this could blow up once again this week with the verdict pending in the trial of a former Minneapolis cop accused of murder for the death of George Floyd.
Minneapolis and other US cities increase security ahead of Derek Chauvin trial verdict (wcvb.com)
I still have hope that cooler heads will prevail, but I suspect troublemakers will continue to intersperse with peaceful protestors and that police will over- react again with excessive force against reporters or bystanders once again caught in the middle.
America First Caucus?
Speaking of people who tend to distort or misuse the truth, Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene is at it again. The dumbest member of Congress had been talking about setting an "America First" caucus with like-minded members of the House. A flier promoting the idea called for the caucus to show "common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions."
It warned of "mass immigration...that poses a threat to the long term existential future of America as a unique country with a unique culture and unique identity". It sounded almost like a broadside from the KKK, but that didn't stop embattled Florida Republican Matt Gaetz from endorsing the idea.
Then came a quick negative reaction from a lot of people, most notably the Republican leadership in the House, Kevin McCarthy and Liz Cheney.
Next thing you know, Taylor-Greene is denying it, saying it was a draft that she hadn't read while accusing the media of a "false narrative." It was an all too familiar theme, it's the media's fault. But she also said she plans to move ahead with the "America First " agenda pushed by Donald Trump.
I get the feeling though, that some Republicans are getting tired of the likes of Taylor-Greene and Gaetz. Let's hope so.
Saving The Planet
President Biden will be hosting a summit this week on climate change. That's a refreshing change of course after the "former guy" who labeled the whole concept of man-made climate change "a hoax," even as he talked about buying Greenland.
Mr. Biden will get lots of attention on this, since a new poll from CBS news shows eight in ten Americans think the U.S. should be part of the effort to roll back climate change.
Fifty-six percent of those polled think action is needed right away, another 11% say something must be done in the next few years. The poll was conducted over the last week. As usual, these days there is a partisan divide.
About a third of those polled, most of whom identify as Republicans, say action on this issue can wait or doesn't need to be taken at all. Of that group, just 21% say the issue doesn't need to be addressed at all, with 23% of them saying there is nothing we can do about it anyway.
Americans support U.S. engaging globally on climate — CBS News poll (msn.com)
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
Former House Speaker John Boehner, who has been around the media circuit plugging his new book, gets this week's entry. What's his analysis of his party's troubles these days?
"Republicans have to go back to being Republicans."
Duh!
(Your suggestions and comments are welcome)
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