PEN America’s Post

Protests aren't slowing down. Journalists: PREPARE! If in California, read LA Press Club's safety tips. Memorize phrase "Penal Code 409.7" for dealing with police. These tips don't address trespass on colleges yet (potential untested legal questions). Like every person should be, I'm sickened by attacks on ANY student. The attacks on journalists -- and especially student journalists -- are also horrible. Without them, we wouldn't know what happened. Read their coverage. Most of us bear witness indirectly, all thanks to them. As press rights chair for LAPC, I research attacks on journalists across CA (police, protesters, etc.). Last night at UCLA wasn't new, but extra awful because it happened at scale and to students. If you have evidence DM or email pressrights [at] http://lapressclub.org.

The News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) expresses deep distress and concern regarding the recent decision made by the I.N.D.I.A. Media Committee to refrain from sending their representatives to shows and events hosted by specific journalists/anchors. This decision sets a worrisome precedent. The exclusion of representatives from the opposition alliance on TV news shows hosted by esteemed journalists undermines the principles of democracy. It demonstrates intolerance and poses a threat to press freedom. While the opposition alliance claims to champion pluralism and a free press, their decision shows a callous disregard for one of democracy's fundamental principles: the inherent right to openly express ideas and opinions. The boycott of certain journalists/anchors harks back to the days of the Emergency era when the press was silenced, and independent voices and opinions were suppressed. NBDA earnestly appeals to the opposition alliance to reconsider their decision and withdraw it.

Editors in newsrooms across the U.S. have found themselves in conversations with reporters and photographers who do not want to participate in covering public declarations and demonstrations supporting both Israelis and Palestinians. Journalists are objecting for a number of reasons, including personal safety concerns, the presence of hate speech at some gatherings and their own strong personal beliefs. These newsroom leaders are faced with two simultaneous challenges: First, they must find ways to document the full range of views of the people in their communities. At the same time, they must also create an environment on staff where journalists can openly discuss and explore their personal competing loyalties. Here are things editors can and should say to fulfill their responsibilities to their audiences and their staff, from Kelly McBride: https://lnkd.in/eMBVZPQY

Journalists covering political events in the US should exercise caution. In the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on Presidential candidate Donald Trump, anti-media sentiment is being expressed by some influential Republicans and across social media. Journalists who were at the rally in Pennsylvania say that after Trump was taken off the stage, some members of the audience tried to break into the media area and people were chanting: “Fake News - this is your fault.” Journalists covering crowd events should consider the following: - Working in teams or buddying up with other media. - Discretion - not wearing media logos and overt identification. - Mentally prepare to be verbally abused or spat at (like at previous rallies) - Identify if the crowd or members of the crowd are anti-media. Move away from them if possible and avoid antagonising them. - If individuals are visibly armed or aggressive - avoid them completely. Currently, Legal firearms will be allowed in the RNC security footprint. - To build rapport with people, particularly if you want to interview individuals later. - On arrival at any location, identify potential exit routes and plan an evacuation strategy with colleagues. Revaluate this strategy regularly. - If you are working at a static position, consider if you need security. During the 2021 Jan 6th invasion of the capitol building, media live positions were ransacked by protestors. RiskPal has been working with media covering the build-up to the US elections. Our experts have been training and advising journalists across the US.

Speak up for media freedom! Help us uncover unreported media freedom violations by submitting incidents through our Report It form. Your information is vital in defending press freedom. Submit anonymously or provide contact details. Include details, news articles, or footage if available for verification. Rest assured, our experts will review your alert. https://lnkd.in/eQprAsi2

If you care about the First Amendment, please stop read this article. House “intelligence” committee (HPSCI) members are blocking reforms to FISA Section 702 “because they want the FBI to spy on American protesters.” A bit of background: Section 702 authorizes warrantless surveillance and therefore can only be targeted at foreigners overseas. But it inevitably sweeps in enormous volumes of Americans’ communications. Despite Congress’s mandate to “minimize” the retention and use of Americans’ information, the government routinely searches through Section 702-acquired data for the express purpose of finding and reviewing Americans’ phone calls, text messages, and emails. Astonishingly, the FISA Court has deemed these “backdoor searches” legal so long as they are reasonably likely to return foreign intelligence or evidence of a crime. But the FBI has engaged in “persistent and widespread” violations (per the court) of that low standard. Documented abuses include searches for members of Congress, journalists, 19,000 donors to a congressional campaign… and tens of thousands of Americans engaged in “civil unrest,” including at least 141 Black Lives Matter protesters. Members of Congress have vowed not to reauthorize Section 702 (it expires in April) without significant reforms, most notably, a requirement that the government obtain a warrant before searching Section 702 data for Americans’ communications. (But I’m not holding my breadth as they always cave in) Most HPSCI members, however, are surveillance hawks. They know they can’t get away with a straight reauthorization, so they have come up with legislation that pretends to implement reforms while actually *expanding* surveillance. Moreover, in recent weeks, HPSCI leaders have engaged in decidedly underhanded behavior—including disclosing intelligence about a Russian military program and reneging on a deal with the Speaker—to block members from voting on real reforms. Until now, one might have charitably chalked up their behavior to a belief that 702 abuses could be controlled without a warrant (despite evidence to the contrary) or that abuses are the necessary price of national security (also demonstrably false). What was learned today is that HPSCI leadership is opposing a warrant requirement, not DESPITE the fact that backdoor searches are being abused to spy on protesters, but BECAUSE of that fact. The abuses ARE THE POINT. As the article reports, HPSCI Chair Mike Turner led off closed-door briefings with Republican staff, designed to stoke opposition to a warrant requirement for backdoor searches, with slides showing ceasefire protesters sitting quietly on the street outside Sen. Schumer’s house. #Surveillance #Privacy #Data

Speak up for media freedom! Help us uncover unreported media freedom violations by submitting incidents through our Report It form. Your information is vital in defending press freedom. Submit anonymously or provide contact details. Include details, news articles, or footage if available for verification. Rest assured, our experts will review your alert. https://lnkd.in/eQprAsi2

A news cameraman from a local TV station is taken down violently by state police at the University of Texas at Austin during protests against US support for Israel's war on Gaza. Society of Professional Journalists, Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, Committee To Protect Journalists and other advocacy organizations have spoken out publicly against the arrest of Carlos. It is a basic tenet of democracy to protect freedom of the press. As Executive Director for Democracy Watch News I am also obligated to speak out against violence used by police against journalists. There is no way that the state can justify the arrest of Carlos on a charge of criminal trespass when it was his job to be there to cover the protests! Law enforcement agencies must allow reporters to do their jobs in the public interest. This is a violation of the basic principles of a democratic society. This arrest of another reporter will not help to improve the declining #USA ranking on the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. Arresting reporters who are covering protests is one reason why the US ranking in press freedom has been declining steadily since the Occupy Wall Street movement protests when Associated Press reporters and other professional journalists were harassed and arrested at major demonstrations. https://lnkd.in/gDi7paGT Here are local news reports on the incident in the video: https://lnkd.in/gQ8WpVtC https://lnkd.in/gjV_cThV USA is ranked 45th on World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders: https://rsf.org/en/index My report on our declining press freedom ranking for Democracy Watch News: https://lnkd.in/gvRqifHi The anti-war #protests are growing as more students challenge their academic institutions by demanding divestment. Over 100 protesters arrested near USA Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's house in Brooklyn. Anti-war demonstrations are growing and facing push back from college administrations using police to try to stop protests and encampments. Republican Speaker of The House Rep. Mike Johnson and other GOP members of the US Congress were booed while addressing protests at Columbia University. Meanwhile, 97 Journalists have been killed in #Gaza! https://t.co/Uj0EzVVacc Summary of my briefing for office of Rep. Pramila Jayapal on violations of press freedom in Gaza and declining ranking of USA on the World Press Freedom Index: https://t.co/G2sAS2o2H5

The New York Times Protests Too Much The paper's critics are offering principled vision of journalism, while NYT leadership responds like campaign hacks. Jamison Foser "The model of journalism the New York Times pretends to believe in is bad – and the Times knows it ... The criticism of the Times is that it blurs the asymmetries between Trump and Biden. ... In short: The Times defends itself from criticism for presenting a distorted view of the choice between Biden and Trump that blurs the asymmetries between the candidates by insisting that it must do so in order to appeal to Trump supporters. This is simply not what 'independence' means. ... There’s a fundamental confusion at the heart of the broken way most political journalists — definitely not just at the New York Times — have approached their jobs for decades. A confusion about what the various buzzwords they have deployed over the years to describe their approach actually mean. 'Balance,' 'Independence,' 'Fairness,' 'Objectivity,' 'Neutrality' — these are (related and overlapping) values we constantly see journalists tout. They are all great values that should be at the heart of journalism. I just don’t think they mean what many political journalists think they mean. These values are typically invoked by journalists to defend coverage that treats asymmetrical things as symmetrical, and inequivalent things as equivalent." cc: Richard Sambrook, Jay Rosen https://lnkd.in/eER3Zvdu