For Immediate Release: Aug. 7, 2024
Media Contact: Jen Sheehan, jen@nyguild.org
NEW YORK – The Daily News Union – a unit of The NewsGuild of New York – sent an open letter to NYPD brass on Tuesday, demanding an apology after NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry attempted to physically intimidate the Daily News Police Bureau Chief following a press conference last week.
The response, from the very officers in the NYPD whose job it is to work with the press, was not an apology, an offer to discuss what took place, or even a response to Daughtry’s conduct. Instead they took to social media to post an unsigned, belligerent rant in an attempt to smear the reporter in question and target the Daily News Union.
The NewsGuild of New York, the union that represents nearly 6,000 media workers across the tri-state area including those at the Daily News, stands for the fundamental rights of our journalists to cover the news. No organization and no individual – especially the NYPD – has the right to threaten journalists who are doing their jobs.
STATEMENT FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK
“Our entire union stands firmly with our members at the Daily News Union, and with all the journalists who work to shine a light into the dark corners of our great city where corruption, injustice and cynicism thrive. The public has a fundamental right to access independent news and it is our mission to serve them without fear or favor. Our message to the NYPD is clear: We will not be intimidated or bullied into reporting anything less than the truth.”
STATEMENT FROM JON SCHLEUSS, PRESIDENT OF THE NEWSGUILD-CWA
“Police officers cannot trample over the U.S. Constitution and violate the rights of a free press in a democracy. Our union represents more than 27,000 journalists and other workers across North America and firmly stands with our NewsGuild of New York and Daily News Union family. We will not tolerate the NYPD’s efforts to intimidate journalists who are simply doing their jobs. We call for an investigation and a public apology from NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban.”
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ABOUT THE NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK
The NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003 of the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America, is a labor union representing nearly 6,000 media professionals and other workers at New York area news organizations, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Thomson Reuters, ProPublica, The Nation, TIME, PEOPLE, The New York Daily News, Consumer Reports, and The Daily Beast. The NewsGuild of New York advocates for journalists to have a voice in the newsroom, for press freedom, for inclusive and diverse workplaces, and for just cause, no exceptions, for all media professionals.