It's Up To Us To Protect The First Amendment

What happens when a journalist is arrested? How do we account for the stories that don’t get told, or the issues that don’t get covered because the press was restricted or behind bars? How do we measure the intimidation journalists feel, and the chill that police intervention places on freedom of the press? One gauge might be the U.S.’s recent drop in global press freedom rankings, down to number 47 worldwide.

Another measurement might be the words of journalists themselves. Kristin Hanes, a journalist who was arrested last month in Oakland, recentlytweeted: “Whenever journalists are arrested/detained for reporting the news, everyone’s freedom is at risk. That is what frightens me most.” Susie Cagle, who has been arrested twice, put it this way on Twitter: “When journos arrested, access is gone & the story often dies. That to me is a reason to be upset, apart from unjust arrests.” Another journalist, a freelancer without the benefit of institutional backing and legal support, is worried about being able to cover future protests because her arrest charges are still pending.

An array of local and national press freedom organizations has stepped up, sending letters to local police departments and providing legal and financial assistance to arrested journalists. However, they can’t win this fight alone. That’s why we at Free Press and SaveTheNews.org called on our members this week to stand with the arrested journalists and with press freedom groups like the Newspaper Guild, the Society for Professional Journalists and the National Press Photographers Association.

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