BE OUTRAGED OVER POLICE ATTACKS
ON JOURNALISTS ACROSS AMERICA
ON THE WEB
VISIT US ONLINE AT QNS.COM
CHECK OUT OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES:
www.facebook.com/timesledger
www.twitter.com/TimesLedger
www.instagram.com/qnsgram
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 12-18, 2020 15
BY JUDY PATRICK
Within the journalism community,
there’s outrage over the assaults our
fellow journalists have endured covering
the unrest in America sparked by
the death of a black man, George Floyd,
in police custody in Minneapolis.
We recognize that those reporters
are bearing witness to the events unfolding
before them. They are there to
hold those in power accountable for
their actions. Attacks on journalism
diminish the people’s right to the truth
about what the government is doing in
their name. This is serious and needs
to be addressed.
But let’s be frank. Protesters, business
owners and police officers are being
attacked as well. There’s plenty of
violence to go around, especially when
night falls.
America’s outrage is focused, as it
should be, on the racial injustices that
permeate our society. To seriously address
these fundamental problems,
demonstrations and protests need to be
followed by lots of dialogue, education,
research and real change.
Yet to be successful, the sun must
shine on that process. We need to build
understanding and consensus, and for
that we will need journalists every step
of the way. Without them, we will fail.
The ongoing attacks on journalists
in America, especially by police, is truly
unprecedented. To be sure, journalists
in many other countries face far
more adversity. But this is America,
the leader of the free world, where the
free press is one of our fundamental
values and sets the standard.
Covering protests, especially chaotic
ones, has always been tough. Reporters
are used to getting jostled, taunted
and sometimes threatened with arrest.
And while the level of aggression has
been increasing in the last decade, the
number of attacks of the past few days
are far beyond anything we have ever
seen before.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker,
run by the Freedom of the Press Foundation
and the Committee to Protect
Journalists, typically investigates 100
to 150 incidents of attacks on U.S. journalists
a year. On Monday, the group
was investigating more than 100 incidents
from the first three days of the
current protests alone.
Journalists don’t like becoming
part of the story. It’s a distraction from
the central story, which in this case is
the unprecedented display of national
outrage sparked by systemic racial discrimination.
But it is because the central story
is so important that these shameful
attacks must be called out and denounced.
Other countries may be able
to control and limit their press by intimidation
and violence but that can’t
be allowed to happen here in America.
Journalists are getting pushed and
shoved, shot by rubber bullets and
pepper balls, assaulted with pepper
spray and tear gas, punched, slapped,
detained and arrested. Some of this is
happening live on air, before our eyes.
The danger can come from either
direction. Some protesters are targeting
journalists, hurling rocks and
other debris at them, knocking them
down, beating them and setting their
vehicles on fire.
Why this is happening should be no
big surprise. Since taking office, President
Trump has put a big fat “enemy of
the people” stamp on every journalist’s
forehead. He affirmed it with a tweet
at the height of the protests this past
weekend. He’s done more than give the
attackers license to act; he’s emboldened
them.
This is about far more than journalists’
personal safety. This is about
democracy. This is about the public’s
right to know. This is about an institution
that, despite its lapses, strives to
help us build a better society.
Judy Patrick is the vice president for
editorial content at the New York Press
Association.
OP-ED
LETTERS POLICY
Letters should be typed or neatly handwritten, and those longer than 300
words may be edited for brevity and clarity. All letters must include the
writer’s name and phone number for verifi cation. Names may be withheld
from publication if requested, but anonymously sent letters will not be
printed. Letters must be received by Thursday noon to appear in the next
week’s paper. All letters become the property of Schneps Media and may
be republished in any format.
LAST WEEK’S TOP STORY:
Cops cuff man who threatened peaceful protesters with
multi-bladed weapon in Whitestone
SUMMARY: A man who threatened peaceful protesters in Whitestone
with a multi-bladed weapon earlier this week was arrested
and charged with attempted murder on Thursday, June 4.
/QNS.COM
/TimesLedger
/qnsgram
/QNS.COM
/timesledger
/timesledger
/TimesLedger
/qnsgram
