Category: Press Freedom

Guild Joins Challenge to Gag Orders on Gov’t Requests for Info

Oct. 17, 2017 – The NewsGuild-CWA joined the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and other organizations in filing a friend-of-the-court brief challenging the constitutionality of the national security letter (NSL) statute, which grants the FBI the power to demand customer records from electronic communication service providers and impose gag orders banning providers from disclosing any details of the NSLs they receive.

Continue reading “Guild Joins Challenge to Gag Orders on Gov’t Requests for Info”

Guild Joins Coalition Opposing Subpoena of NY Times Reporter

Oct. 11, 2017 – The NewsGuild-CWA joined 48 media organizations in filing a friend-of-the-court brief on Oct. 6 in support of a New York Times reporter who is seeking to quash a subpoena for her testimony and notes from a jailhouse interview with Conrado Juarez, who is on trial for the murder of “Baby Hope.” The reporter, Frances Robles, is a member of The NewsGuild-CWA’s New York chapter, The NewsGuild of New York.

Continue reading “Guild Joins Coalition Opposing Subpoena of NY Times Reporter”

NewsGuild: Hold Mayor, St. Louis Police Department Accountable

Updated Oct. 6, 2017

Oct. 5, 2017 – The mayor and acting police commissioner of St. Louis must be held accountable for the arrest of journalists covering public protests in the city, the Executive Council of The NewsGuild-CWA declared at a meeting on Oct. 5. Continue reading “NewsGuild: Hold Mayor, St. Louis Police Department Accountable”

Guild Members Stand Up for ‘Right to Report’

 

At an August campaign rally in Phoenix, President Trump said of journalists, ‘And they’re bad people. And I really think they don’t like our country.’

September 2017 – Members of The NewsGuild-CWA are continuing to stand up for reporters and press freedom through the Right to Report project, even as President Trump amps up his attacks on both.

The president’s war on the media gained steam throughout the summer, beginning with his decision to retweet a 28-second video that depicted him beating up CNN and ending with him questioning journalists’ patriotism at a 2020 campaign rally in Phoenix.

“Trump’s attacks on journalists are straight out of the authoritarian playbook,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Bernie Lunzer. “His goal is to delegitimize the press; distort the truth; deny the American people access to information, and distract from news he doesn’t like. Continue reading “Guild Members Stand Up for ‘Right to Report’”

Victory: Charges Dropped

 

Radio reporter Dan Heyman and his attorney, Tim DiPiero, on the night of his arrest.

September 2017 – Charges were dropped in September against a radio reporter who was arrested after he persisted in asking questions of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price in a hallway at the West Virginia Capitol. Continue reading “Victory: Charges Dropped”

Freelance Guild Photographer Roughed Up by Police

 

Anderson took the photo above before she was roughed up by police.

September 2017 – The Pacific News Media Guild is protesting the treatment of a freelance photographer and union member who was roughed up by police as she covered a protest outside a Berkeley City Council meeting in June. Continue reading “Freelance Guild Photographer Roughed Up by Police”

NewsGuild Condemns Arrest of Reporter Michael Faulk

Sept. 21, 2017 – The NewsGuild-CWA condemns the arrest of Michael Faulk, a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who was covering protests in the city at the time of his arrest.

Faulk was caught in a “kettle,” a controversial police technique used to corral groups of protesters, the Post-Dispatch reported on Tuesday. Faulk and others were repeatedly told to move back, but there was nowhere to go. Continue reading “NewsGuild Condemns Arrest of Reporter Michael Faulk”

Notable Threats to Press Freedom

Sept. 20, 2017 – Among the most notable threats to press freedom during the week of Sept. 11-17: Journalists were detained during weekend protests in St. Louis and the White House called for an ESPN reporter to be fired after she posted tweets calling President Trump a white supremacist. That’s according to Reporters Without Borders. Read more here.

NewsGuild Photographer Roughed Up by Berkeley Police in June

Sept. 7, 2017 – NewsGuild member Brooke Anderson was roughed up by police in late June, ironically, while covering a protest at a Berkeley City Council meeting that focused on how police departments handle protests. The credentialed photographer is a member of the Pacific Media Workers Guild local, which includes a unit of freelancers like Anderson. Continue reading “NewsGuild Photographer Roughed Up by Berkeley Police in June”