As Attacks On Protesters and Journalists Increase, Coverage Of Communities And Police Need To Change
The weekend saw escalating police violence against protesters and reporters at nationwide demonstrations against the police killing of George Floyd and systemic racial injustices. There has been an unprecedented number of attacks against journalists at many of these protests as law-enforcement officers have specifically targeted those engaged in First-Amendment protected newsgathering and reporting. This mirrors the ways police are targeting those engaged in First-Amendment protected protest.
President Trump has egged on the police crackdown in a series of recent tweets, including one that labels news outlets covering the protests as the “Enemy of the People.” Reporters and researchers at the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker are investigating more than 100 separate incidents in which officers attacked reporters, permanently blinding a photojournalist in one eye and causing other grave injuries.