November 22nd, 2011
Discussing the Occupy arrests of journalists
By Holly Fisher
It’s been disturbing to watch journalists around the country arrested for simply doing their jobs covering Occupy protests. From New York to California, Occupy protesters have been making headlines and, unfortunately, so have the journalists covering the events. Studio SPJ hosted a discussion on this topic with Paul Fletcher, Virginia Pro SPJ President, and Mickey Osterreicher, counsel for the National Press Photographers Association.
Listen to the archived podcast.
Virginia Pro is one of the local SPJ chapters that issued a letter of objection to arrests in their area. Read more about what happened in Virginia and the pro chapter’s response. SPJ also issued a statement this month calling on city officials to drop charges against journalists covering the protests.
Our discussion during the podcast revealed the general public doesn’t always agree that journalists should be allowed to freely cover these protests. A greater level of education is needed. And that is one way journalists all over can get involved – write about what’s going on and get the word out there.
Other Occupy tidbits:
Josh Stearns, associate program director at Free Press, is maintaining a list of journalists arrested. Also check out his blog, Groundswell.
Read about Nashville Scene reporter Jonathan Meador’s arrest ordeal.