FCC, NAB, Journalism Groups Condemn Attacks on Journalists

In Louisville Friday, police allegedly fired “pepper balls” at a news crew from Gray Television’s WAVE Louisville. A CNN reporter was arrested on camera last week, and a Fox News television crew was attacked at a protest outside the White House Saturday. “There is simply no justification for the Louisville police to wantonly open fire, even with pepper balls, on any journalists under any circumstances,” said station General Manager Ken Selvaggi. The Louisville Metro Police Department should “investigate fully and take all necessary actions to ensure that no journalist ever faces a situation like the WAVE 3 news team endured,” said Gray CEO Pat LaPlatney. The LMPD didn’t comment.

“Those who work for local television and radio stations are often putting themselves at personal risk to serve the public interest, and they must be allowed to do their jobs without being threatened or attacked,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Sunday.

“If you’re speaking up for journalists who have become targets during nationwide protests, please keep doing so,” tweeted Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. “But also speak up when those in the highest office in the land call the press the enemy of the people. These things are related.”

“One of the clearest and most tangible applications of the First Amendment has been the access it guarantees journalists to cover current events of our day,” said Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. “Recent efforts to restrict press access, even though some politicians have tried, have been quickly rebuffed.” Stations “must continue to have the freedom to do their jobs without threats or assaults.” Commissioner Geoffrey Starks’ office didn’t comment.

Pai called Floyd’s killing “awful” and tweeted an article about the 1921 attack on Tulsa’s black community. Retweeting an article Thursday on the investigation into Floyd’s killing, Commissioner Brendan Carr said he hopes the killers experience “the firm press of justice.”

After Gray’s WOIO Shaker Heights, Ohio, posted an open letter over the weekend challenging a Cleveland policy banning media from the city’s downtown area during a protest-related curfew, the city rescinded it, said station General Manager Erik Schrader in an interview. Many localities instituted curfews in response to the protest, but Cleveland was the only one that extended the policy to media, Schrader said Monday. The policy meant there were about 10 hours in which reporters couldn’t cover Cleveland’s downtown, he said. Washington was among cities elsewhere with curfews.

"Credentialed press can conduct their work without risking police or public safety (while hopefully staying safe themselves),” tweeted O’Rielly, in response to reports of Cleveland's policy being lifted.

NAB President Gordon Smith wants a swift investigation of the Louisville incident.” No police officer has the right to fire any type of ammunition at journalists who are simply doing their jobs and appropriately positioned to cover the news.” It's “essential that law enforcement and government officials not only allow journalists to report on the historic events currently unfolding, but to provide journalists with the necessary protection in order to remain safe to do their jobs,” said the News Media Alliance, America’s Newspapers and National Newspaper Association. “Any law enforcement officer who used force on or improperly arrested a reporter should be held accountable,” said the National Press Club.

“The First Amendment prevents law enforcement from silencing the voices of protesters and from beating back the journalists who seek to share their concerns with the world,” said Free Press News Voices Organizing Manager Alicia Bell. “Rather than allowing law enforcement to control the narrative and vilify Black people, as has been the case too often in the past, journalists must be free to mingle among protesters to document and air their perspectives.”