Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho
As of July 2021 the Radio Television Digital News Association announced their push for new legislation in Congress. They describe the situation for Journalists and Newsrooms in this fashion, “Today even the most routine stories are met with increased risk. Journalists across the country have reported physical and verbal assault, targeted equipment damage and being shot at while on the job.”
The piece of draft legislation titled “Journalist Protection Act” would make it a Federal crime to assault or intimidate Journalists in the process of news gathering. The legislation sponsored in the house by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D) CA and Senator Max Blumenthal (D) CT was introduced in 2019. An Identical bill was introduced in the Senate the same year. According to the congress.gov website, there were 19 co-sponsors for the House legislation all of which were democrats.
The authority for consideration of bills rests with the committee chair. The process, known as a markup, is where the bill along with amendments are considered before they return to the House or Senate floor.
https://www.congress.gov/legislative-process/committee-consideration
According to the Reporters Without Borders Website, the United States ranks 44th in terms of Press Freedom around the world despite First Amendment Protections. This is out of 180 countries listed on the website. They had previously left the ranking at 45th during the Occupy Wall Street protests while the Obama administration was in Office.
The Committee to Protect Journalists documented 300 cases of assaults on Journalists mostly, by Law Enforcement, in the year 2020. Further describing the situation, the CPJ said, “Today, seven months after the protests began, and with at least 12 journalists still facing criminal charges – some of which carry jail terms and fines – members of the U.S. press continue to grapple with how the unprecedented series of attacks on the media occurred. “
The most common causes observed by Free Press advocates, is Political Climate, Vitriol, and Militarized Law Enforcement. It was observed by the CPJ that Newsgathering activities were never codified into law and haven’t been. The result of this has been to be less reliant on Press Badges as a form of protection.
https://cpj.org/2020/12/in-2020-u-s-journalists-faced-unprecedented-attacks/
This trend was also documented by US Government funded Voice of America News. Journalists working for the outlet were reminded of their coverage of overseas civil disturbances. A Journalist working for VOA’s Indonesia Service described the situation thusly, “I understand that being a ‘collateral damage’ in covering demonstrations and riots, is unavoidable,” she said. “But being intentionally targeted with tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets, even after they had displayed press ID, is a direct violations of press freedom.”
https://www.voanews.com/press-freedom/covering-us-protests-journalists-find-unexpected-threats
In January of this year, a Pro-Trump protest that later turned into a riot resulted in bodily harm committed against Journalists by Pro-Trump activists according to Voice of America news. It was also pointed out initially that Law Enforcement bared some culpability according to the VOA report, “By the end of the day, Andrade-Rhoades says, she had been struck by four rubber bullets — three in the leg and one in the upper hip — as police clashed with rioters, and three people had threatened to shoot her.” The report than described an incident with an Associated Press Photographer, “The journalist is one of several who say they were attacked or threatened by the rioters last Wednesday. Footage showed crowds smashing equipment belonging to an Associated Press crew, charging and yelling at reporters, and dragging a photographer backward over a ledge.”
https://www.voanews.com/press-freedom/us-journalists-suffer-attacks-during-capitol-riot-protests
An argument against the bill was presented by Ross Givens of the Kushinlos YouTube channel. Who said the following about the legislation, “It could lead to journalists having to be licensed and a list of official journalists. As in, only people the government says are journalists would be protected by this law and the others that will come down the line.” Further describing how the legislation could be used as an attack on Citizen Journalists in the United States.
As the trend of attacks against Journalists persist from Law Enforcement, and from the extremes on both sides of the political spectrum. Journalists, Independent, Public Funded, or Corporate, are now at greater risk of harm/bodily injury due to a political climate amplified by the Trump Administration.
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