Journalist Arrests Blog Posts
We Must Protect Our Right to Record
Today is World Press Freedom Day — but it sure doesn’t feel like it here in the U.S.
Since September, police have arrested dozens of journalists and activists around the country for the “crime” of trying to document political protests in public spaces.
People using iPhones, Androids and other mobile devices are changing the way we record and share breaking news. In return, police have targeted, harassed — and in many cases, arrested — those trying to capture images and video of public events.
It's Up to Us to Protect the First Amendment
What happens when a journalist is arrested? How do we account for the stories that don’t get told, or the issues that don’t get covered because the press was restricted or behind bars? How do we measure the intimidation journalists feel, and the chill that police intervention places on freedom of the press? One gauge might be the U.S.’s recent drop in global press freedom rankings, down to number 47 worldwide.
As Pressure Builds, Some Cities Respond to Journalist Arrests
After arresting more than 20 journalists in New York City, and threatening press in various other ways, the New York City Police Department has admitted that it has reprimanded only two of its officers for their actions.
Oakland Becomes the Epicenter for Journalist Arrests
While most of the attention surrounding journalist arrests at Occupy protests has focused on New York City, where more than 20 journalists have been detained, it looks like Oakland will be giving the Big Apple a run for its money. On Jan. 28, Oakland police detained six journalists during mass arrests of Occupy protesters. This comes just weeks after Oakland police apprehended another journalist who, in a video of the arrest, appeared to be obeying orders to disperse.
Adding It Up: Press Freedom, Democratic Health and Public Media Funding
This week Reporters Without Borders released its 2011–2012 Press Freedom Index, and much of the attention has focused on the fact that the United States dropped 27 places to 47th in the world, thanks in large part to the journalist arrests at Occupy Wall Street events. For a nation that has built its model of governance on freedom of the press, that ranking should be a wake-up call, and should spark a national debate about how we are going to defend the First Amendment in the digital age.
On its own, the study from Reporters Without Borders is a powerful snapshot of press freedom around the world. However, it’s worth cross-referencing the report’s findings with a few other data points to better understand how the United States stacks up, and why this ranking is so important. When the lists below are viewed side by side, it becomes clear that press freedom correlates directly with other measures of democratic health.
After Journalist Arrests, U.S. Plummets in Global Press Freedom Rankings
In last night’s State of the Union address, President Obama called for a “renewal of American values.” However, over the course of his wide-ranging speech, he made no mention of one core value: the fundamental role of the free press in America.
This absence was highlighted this morning when Reporters Without Borders released its 2011–2012 global Press Freedom Index. After months of journalist arrests and press suppression at Occupy Wall Street-inspired protests, the United States has plummeted in the rankings.
NYPD: Elmo Safe, Journalists Not So Much
There is breaking news out of New York City today. The New York Police Department has announced that it is halting its crackdown on Elmo. Journalists, on the other hand, are out of luck.
40,000 People Call on U.S. Mayors to End Journalist Arrests
The number of journalists arrested at Occupy Wall Street events around the country just keeps climbing. After this week’s police raids on Occupy LA and Occupy Philly, the total number of journalists arrested is now up to 30. The arrests have spread across 10 cities from Oakland to Boston, Los Angeles to Atlanta.
While the arrests are perhaps the worst examples of press suppression, other reports of police roughing up journalists or blocking them from reporting continue to roll in. Even in New York City, where the NYPD has ordered its officers not to interfere with press, journalists are still being harassed.
Pressure Builds in Response to Journalist Arrests
On Monday afternoon Joe Pompeo of Capitol New York broke the news that 13 New York City news organizations and 10 press-freedom groups from across the country had sent a letter to city officials in response to recent journalist arrests. The same day, the New York Press Club announced a new coalition was forming to monitor the NYPD’s treatment of the press.
We have been tracking and documenting these journalist arrests since September and a week ago launched a citizen petition calling for all charges to be dropped and demanding that Mayor Michael Bloomberg commit to protecting the First Amendment.
Occupy Crackdown Targets Journalists
For the past two months I have been tracking journalist arrests at Occupy protests around the country. Tuesday, Nov. 15, was the worst day yet in terms of police suppression of the press.
It all began in the middle of the night, when police moved in at 1 a.m. to forcibly evacuate Zuccotti Park, the original Occupy Wall Street encampment. Not long after the park raid began, journalists on Twitter began to report that they were being blocked from covering the police actions.
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