Media: War on bloggers at the RNC? Not quite
Via someone on Daily Kos:
Freedom of the Press is really in danger folks. I mean really in danger. Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now! has been arrested today while covering the RNC convention and the corresponding protests. A number of senior DN! producers have also been detained. The program – in its 12th year is a go-to resource for those of us who want the news that MSM refuses to cover in depth.
This is how they quell dissent, clampdown on the free flow of information and make an example out of those who dare to speak truth to power. Call who you need to call, make your voices heard.
THIS CANNOT STAND!
Right.
So, here’s what Mashable is reporting:
Over the weekend, a number of bloggers and the New York Times rose to defend what they termed as a number of bloggers and podcasters who were arrested in Minneapolis. Podcasting News called it “a pre-emptive attempt to stifle protest and independent media coverage.†The truth is a little bit different from the story presented there and at BoingBoing, Salon and a dozen other blogs.
Snip
This time around, though, law enforcement appears partially justified in their pre-emptive raids on at least four houses where self-proclaimed anarchists and anti-authoritarians were housed. While some of them might have had personal blog or even blogs dedicated to politics, their goal was not primarily to document, but (according to their organization’s website) to help “all anarchists and anti-authoritarians, all radicals and rabble-rousers … crash the convention†and blockade downtown so as to “disrupt traffic to the convention.â€
I encourage politically citizens — regardless of their politics — to also blog about their activities. But if those activities include civil disobedience, then they ought to expect to pay the price. When Henry David Thoreau, the guy who literally wrote the book on civil disobedience, went to jail for refusing to pay taxes to support the Mexican-American War, he expected to go to jail. He didn’t claim that being a journalist was a get-out-of-jail free card.
If a blogger is covering one of these group’s activities, that’s journalism, no matter how sympathetic the blogger is to the cause. But if that blogger is a member of the group and a planner of these activities, he or she is a participant and ought to go to jail with the rest of them.
And here is the irony that’s going to be lost on these people. Their “protests” are designed to disrupt the convention, thus preventing the GOP from exercising their right to assemble. Why am I not surprised? The far left will TELL you they are for freedom of speech. They ACT, however, as if the only rights they cherish are their own.
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:14 am
Good post. Great points made.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:20 am
Amy Goodman is a journalist and radio show host for Democracy Now! and her two producers that were with her were not practicing civil disobedience. They were covering the protests for their radio/tv/web production. These people are not just bloggers or podcasters.
“All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar’s violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, “I’m Press! Press!,†resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman’s arm was violently yanked by police as she was arrested.” http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2008/9/1/update_democracy_now_s_amy_goodman_sharif_abdel_kouddous_and_nicole_salazar_released_after_illegal_arrest_at_rnc
The problem is that the police are arresting anyone. Arrest first, ask questions later or leave it to the courts. While I am certain there are some ‘bloggers’ who are there to practice this ‘civil disobedience’ you speak of, many are legitimate ‘press’ people just trying to get the story and are getting caught up in the arrests. I appreciate you trying to take your blog from local politics to national, but even your title is wrong – it’s the RNC, not the DNC. And it’s not about ‘bloggers’ getting arrested for being like Thoreau. It’s about the media getting arrested along with the protesters.
And as far as their actions being designed to disrupt the GOP’s right to assemble, I just say Please! They are generally designed to bring attention to their causes, not prevent anyone from assembling. Just like when your favorite sports team wins something big, sometimes the crowds just get a bit too enthused and overturn cars and break windows, etc. You just watch the Cub fans burn down Chicago if they win the WS and you’ll see what I mean!
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:43 am
Wow Bill, who loaned you the spin machine? This one is starting to look as police state-ish as the 2004 RNC: http://www.2600.com/rnc2004/
I wonder why they never try selling themselves as the party of oppression. I think it might actually work on the RWA nuts.
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Yes, fix the header, Billy. It’s the RNC where this happened.
As far as I know, the DNC went off without much in the way of arrests, despite all the hoopla about the cages they built to handle masses of arrests.
And Democracy Now is a blog, but is also a radio show, and everything I’ve heard about it today suggests that two people were trying to film/cover the protests (though violent, they were not involved in the violence, just filming it). And when Goodman stepped in to help the cameraman and producer/explain the situation, she got arrested too. They weren’t being violent themselves, they were observing and filming. It does sound sketchy, the arrests that is.
September 20th, 2008 at 10:32 am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/19/charges-dropped-against-r_n_127834.html
Charges Dropped Against Reporters Arrested During RNC:
“Amy Goodman, host of the syndicated radio and television program Democracy Now!, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing the legal process during the protests. Two producers of the show were also arrested.
Choi said the city would also drop charges against the three of them.
Mike Buckso, executive officer of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union, said the dropped charges were welcome _ but he said elected officials must examine what happened in order to prevent “the needless detention and harassment of journalists” in the future.”