I spent about 10 years in radio news. It is sad that in Indianapolis, only one station (WIBC) has any kind of news department. Journalism is under serious stress.
The Indianapolis Star is attempting to cover three days and nights of demonstrations on downtown streets protesting the death of George Floyd. They are doing this with 25% of the reporting staff on furlough due to budget constraints.
Many television journalists are also doing their best to cover the demonstration story locally, along with other news outlets such as the Indianapolis Business Journal and the Indianapolis Recorder.
Many reporters were covering this story while being hit with tear gas and pepper balls along the way. There is nothing easy about that.
Saturday night, the atmosphere was clearly confrontational with dumpsters on fire, windows broken on downtown streets, police under stress and the crowd becoming angrier by the minute. One TV reporter was live on the air, clearly recovering from enduring tear gas, when the anchor asked of he was all right. Unlike most reporters that try to put on a tough exterior, he looked at the camera and honestly said, “I’m scared.” There were tears in his eyes from the gas.
Many good Indianapolis reporters, a few of which are friends of mine, put themselves at risk so there is someone to watch the developments and provide a description of what they see and hear in order to inform you.
Trust me, having been there, there are better ways of making a living. These reporters believe they are part of something bigger than themselves. That is the tradition of reporting news in America.
But nation-wide, there have been many troublesome incidents where demonstrators and/or police make journalists a target.
Here are just a few examples, as listed by the Poynter Institute, a highly-respected nonprofit promoting good journalism:
–In Louisville, a WAVE-TV reporter had a police officer point a weapon at the reporter and her cameraman, with pepper balls striking the reporter. She stayed on the air live and continued reporting.
–Also in Louisville, demonstrators attacked a news van belonging to WLKY-TV, smashing windows and knocking down the cameraman. Other demonstrators intervened and helped the cameraman recover.
–“Demonstrators trashed news cars in Boston, Atlanta, Louisville and Los Angeles. They tossed bottles at reporters in Minneapolis, grabbed a reporter while she was on the air in Phoenix and smashed the windows and iconic CNN sign outside the networks’ Atlanta headquarters,” according to Poynter.
This is just a short list, there are many more. Most journalists I know are very careful and prepare to cover demonstrations. They talk with law enforcement to ensure journalists do not interfere with the legitimate work of police. They do their best to be close enough to cover the story, but no so close they become a part of the story.
It is important to note that words written and spoken by the President of the United States, whomever it may be at the time, matter. When a president accuses good news outlets of “fake news” when he simply doesn’t like their stories, that has some impact.
Journalists out in the field doing their best to get the story to you, the consumers of news, are not publishing fake news. Journalists, particularly local ones, are part of their communities. They volunteer to coach sports teams, are active members in their houses of worship….they are your neighbors. None of them are “enemies of the people.”
Respect good journalism. And, most importantly, SUBSCRIBE!
