CPJ highlights dangers for photojournalists covering protests at Photoville NYC
New York, September 24, 2020 – Photojournalists working in the United States this year face an unprecedented combination of risks, including civil unrest, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate disasters. In honor of their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists is participating in the annual Photoville Festival in New York City as a partner in the…
Physical Safety: Covering wildfires
Wildfires are becoming more frequent across the world and increasing in both severity and extent, according to Science Brief, a website that reviews peer-reviewed scientific studies on various topics, including climate change. Media workers covering any wildfire should be aware of the dynamic nature of such a disaster, and how a rapidly evolving situation on…
Guide to Legal Rights in the U.S.
The following advice and recommendations are intended to give the reader a high-level understanding of the rights of a journalist when confronted by law enforcement officers while covering a protest or other political event. Given that these incidents often quickly escalate and that some – both protestors and police – do not always conform to legal…
Christiane Amanpour, CPJ to testify before Congress on press freedom threats in US
New York, July 21, 2020—On Thursday, Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international correspondent and a CPJ senior adviser, and CPJ Advocacy Director Courtney Radsch will testify on threats to press freedom in the United States in front of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, better known as the Helsinki Commission. David Kaye, United Nations…
Journalists in Hong Kong fear for personal safety as China pushes national security law through
A new survey conducted by the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and released June 19 showed that an overwhelming majority of journalists in Hong Kong worry about their personal safety if the new national security law is enacted. The legislation, approved by the National People’s Congress in Beijing, would criminalize any act of secession, subversion,…
Editors’ Checklist: Preparing for U.S. protest assignments
Updated June 8, 2020 The following checklist enables commissioners and editors to understand how well prepared journalists and other media workers are as they cover U.S. protests over police violence. For additional safety information, please see CPJ’s Safety Advisory for covering U.S. protests over police violence. Select your staff after considering: Have they covered violent…
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering U.S. protests over police violence
Updated August 26, 2020 There have been hundreds of reported incidents of violence and harassment, as well as arrests, targeting journalists covering ongoing Black Lives Matter protests across the U.S. sparked by the death on May 25, 2020—in police custody—of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These incidents have been documented by CPJ…
CPJ condemns targeting of journalists covering protests across the U.S.
New York, May 30, 2020 — In response to reports of attacks against journalists in recent days by police and protesters while covering demonstrations across the U.S., the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Targeted attacks on journalists, media crews, and news organizations covering the demonstrations show a complete disregard for their critical…
Digital Safety: Protecting against targeted online attacks
Journalists reporting on misinformation, conspiracy theories, and/or false news are frequently left vulnerable to online attacks by those who originate or support these views, as well as by people with strong political leanings. People supporting the spread of this type of information online may organize coordinated attacks with the aim of forcing journalists offline and…