LA TIMES - One day after several reporters and camera operators were
injured while covering an altercation at an immigrant rights rally in
MacArthur Park, news organizations condemned the Los Angeles Police
Department for its use of batons and riot guns against members of the
media, and some said they were considering legal options. "We are sorry
for what happened to our employees and find it unacceptable that they
would be abused in that way when they were doing their job," said
Alfredo Richard, spokesman for the Spanish-language network Telemundo,
of the anchor and the reporter who were hurt during the evening rally.
Other members of the media who were injured included four employees of
KVEA-TV Channel 52, a KTTV-TV Channel 11 news reporter who suffered a
minor shoulder injury, a camerawoman who has a broken wrist and a
reporter for KPCC-FM (89.3) who was bruised by a police baton.
"I was dumbfounded," said the KPCC reporter, Patricia Nazario. "I've
covered riots. I've covered chaos. I was never hit or struck or
humiliated the way the LAPD violated me yesterday." Nazario said she was
walking away from riot police when she was hit in the back. Wearing a
press pass and holding a microphone, she turned around and told the
officer, "Why did you hit me? I'm moving. I'm a reporter," Nazario
recalled. Then the officer hit her on the left leg, she said, knocking
her to the ground and sending her cellphone flying. "I was shocked,
trying to scramble to my feet," she said. "At that point, I just started
crying…. I just felt totally vulnerable."
Pedro Sevcec was anchoring the evening news for Telemundo when he saw
the riot police moving slowly toward the news crew. . . Police knocked
over monitors and lights and hit reporters and camera operators with
batons, he said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-media3may03,0,6704192.
story?coll=la-home-headlines
RICHARD PRINCE, JOURNAL-ISMS - From Washington, the Radio-Television
News Directors Association issued a statement quoting RTNDA president
Barbara Cochran: "Under no circumstances should police interfere with
newsgathering when there is no jeopardy to reporters or demonstrators.
As a national organization we fully support our colleagues in Los
Angeles as they pursue a remedy to yesterday's events," she said.
"RTNDA endorses training for law enforcement in the role journalists
play and the treatment they should receive in covering news events. The
association has resources that could be made available for such
training."
In a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, leaders of the
National Association of Hispanic Journalists said, "We remind you that a
lawsuit filed by seven journalists after similar violence against the
press covering demonstrations at the 2000 National Democratic Convention
in Los Angeles should have settled this issue.
"The Los Angeles City Council settled the lawsuit for $60,000 and the
police department was required to institute a policy that recognizes
that the media has the right to cover public assemblies, even if they
are unlawful," said President Rafael Olmeda and Executive Director Ivan
Roman.
"Looking beyond this incident," the Society of Professional
Journalists-Los Angeles said in its own statement, "we request that
Chief Bratton consider convening a working group that would include
representatives of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of
Professional Journalists and other leading local journalism
organizations to review current LAPD protocols for dealing with media
personnel in such situations for possible revisions and improvements to
minimize the likelihood of similar occurrences in the future."
The Radio and Television News Association asked "that if any journalists
have information regarding this matter, including videotape of
encounters between police and reporters, that they notify RTNA
immediately by calling 562-987-4545."
http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/070502_prince/
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injured while covering an altercation at an immigrant rights rally in
MacArthur Park, news organizations condemned the Los Angeles Police
Department for its use of batons and riot guns against members of the
media, and some said they were considering legal options. "We are sorry
for what happened to our employees and find it unacceptable that they
would be abused in that way when they were doing their job," said
Alfredo Richard, spokesman for the Spanish-language network Telemundo,
of the anchor and the reporter who were hurt during the evening rally.
Other members of the media who were injured included four employees of
KVEA-TV Channel 52, a KTTV-TV Channel 11 news reporter who suffered a
minor shoulder injury, a camerawoman who has a broken wrist and a
reporter for KPCC-FM (89.3) who was bruised by a police baton.
"I was dumbfounded," said the KPCC reporter, Patricia Nazario. "I've
covered riots. I've covered chaos. I was never hit or struck or
humiliated the way the LAPD violated me yesterday." Nazario said she was
walking away from riot police when she was hit in the back. Wearing a
press pass and holding a microphone, she turned around and told the
officer, "Why did you hit me? I'm moving. I'm a reporter," Nazario
recalled. Then the officer hit her on the left leg, she said, knocking
her to the ground and sending her cellphone flying. "I was shocked,
trying to scramble to my feet," she said. "At that point, I just started
crying…. I just felt totally vulnerable."
Pedro Sevcec was anchoring the evening news for Telemundo when he saw
the riot police moving slowly toward the news crew. . . Police knocked
over monitors and lights and hit reporters and camera operators with
batons, he said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-media3may03,0,6704192.
story?coll=la-home-headlines
RICHARD PRINCE, JOURNAL-ISMS - From Washington, the Radio-Television
News Directors Association issued a statement quoting RTNDA president
Barbara Cochran: "Under no circumstances should police interfere with
newsgathering when there is no jeopardy to reporters or demonstrators.
As a national organization we fully support our colleagues in Los
Angeles as they pursue a remedy to yesterday's events," she said.
"RTNDA endorses training for law enforcement in the role journalists
play and the treatment they should receive in covering news events. The
association has resources that could be made available for such
training."
In a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, leaders of the
National Association of Hispanic Journalists said, "We remind you that a
lawsuit filed by seven journalists after similar violence against the
press covering demonstrations at the 2000 National Democratic Convention
in Los Angeles should have settled this issue.
"The Los Angeles City Council settled the lawsuit for $60,000 and the
police department was required to institute a policy that recognizes
that the media has the right to cover public assemblies, even if they
are unlawful," said President Rafael Olmeda and Executive Director Ivan
Roman.
"Looking beyond this incident," the Society of Professional
Journalists-Los Angeles said in its own statement, "we request that
Chief Bratton consider convening a working group that would include
representatives of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of
Professional Journalists and other leading local journalism
organizations to review current LAPD protocols for dealing with media
personnel in such situations for possible revisions and improvements to
minimize the likelihood of similar occurrences in the future."
The Radio and Television News Association asked "that if any journalists
have information regarding this matter, including videotape of
encounters between police and reporters, that they notify RTNA
immediately by calling 562-987-4545."
http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/070502_prince/
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