Editorial: Caught in the crossfire

You’re at a Black Lives Matter protest, camera in hand, a press pass hung around your neck, and a mask on, trying to social distance from others. As you walk you see protesters holding up signs. When you turn the corner you see the police. They’re all lined up with shields and in head to toe riot gear. You think, “I’ll be fine, I’m just here to report on the protest.” Next thing you know, there’s a tear gas cylinder flying right at your face.

This was the reality for journalists across the country this summer as they covered protests sparked by the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police brutality. Reporters were shot with foam and rubber bullets, tear gassed, physically assaulted, and zip tied. A CNN crew was arrested while reporting on live TV, sending shockwaves through the journalism community. When police arrest and injure professionals doing their jobs, there is something very wrong with our nation’s conception of free press and democracy.

Journalists used to be respected. Now, they are targeted. These attacks on journalists signifies the damaged concept of free press and democracy in this nation.

Months after the first attacks on journalists at protests, nothing has been done to fix this problem. Journalists were attacked once again at the Capitol building, this time by rioters who destroyed camera equipment and chased away reporters. A camera cord was fashioned into a noose, a chilling parallel to the message left by a Trump supporter on a Capitol door:

“Murder the media.”

At the time of writing this editorial, the nation is anticipating more threats of violence. Journalists, just like the National Guard troops that have flooded the Capitol in anticipation of violence, are preparing as if for battle. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expressed that they are “gravely concerned for media safety,” while the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has issued a safety advisory, warning journalists to “be prepared for the risk of hostility and violence from [...] militia groups, protesters, and the police.”

The country may be under a new presidency, but that does not mean the problem is solved. The Trump administration and its allies must be held accountable for spreading their anti-media rhetoric and threatening the lives and safety of journalists everywhere.

Emma O’Connor