US — #WeeklyAddress: August 6 - August 13: C-SPAN says it reported recent on-air threats to FBI

C-SPAN says it reported recent on-air threats to FBI

C-SPAN reported televised threats against CNN’s Don Lemon and Brian Stelter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to an August 6 statement. This follows a call three days prior from a disgruntled viewer who threatened to shoot Lemon and Stelter, which was aired during C-SPAN’s “open phones” segment. The caller falsely accused the CNN anchors of calling all Trump supporters racists and said, “They started the war. If I see them, I’m going to shoot them.” The C-SPAN statement goes on to explain how specific threats of violence are always reported to authorities—in this case, the FBI. “Airing of callers’ opinions does not constitute endorsement for the views expressed, just as we do not endorse the opinions or analysis offered by the guests on our program.” Stelter addressed the threat directly by airing it on his show on August 5. He explained how these types of threats are on the rise, citing the example of MSNBC’s Katy Tur, who received an email last week advocating for her rape and murder.

News outlets covering Trump rallies now encouraged to bring bodyguards

News outlets are now supplying bodyguards for their correspondents at President Trump’s rallies due to a recent rise in threats against journalists and the White House’s amplified anti-media rhetoric according to an August 9 Politico article. Trump often signals to the press pen and recites his signature anti-press epithets during his rallies, which frequently become heated. One reporter told Politico: “I am concerned, because if the new normal becomes ‘enemy of the American people’ and not just ‘fake news,’ I think that’s a shade darker and a shade more dangerous.” Many journalists have also noticed an increase in hostility from rally-goers, with one stating: “People are much more comfortable with the idea of telling reporters to their face, ‘I think you’re fake news.’ This has clearly percolated into the mind of the Trump voter.”

Police, anti-fascist protesters antagonize reporters at Unite the Right protest

Multiple journalists were harassed at August 11 and 12 protests marking the one year anniversary of the white supremacist Unite the Right rally, which left one counter-protester dead last year. According to ABC reporter DeJuan Hoggard, an angry protester who didn't want to be filmed cut his photographer’s camera cord. NBC’s Cal Perry was filming an August 11 protest in Charlottesville when an anti-fascist—or, antifa—protester shouted profanities at the reporter and swatted his camera away. NPR’s Tim Mak was covering the protests in Washington, DC when he dodged an egg thrown at his head from within a crowd of antifa protesters. Kelly Weill, who covered the protests for The Daily Beast, tweeted  that antifa protesters were “uniformly chill” throughout the weekend and that the only people who had pushed her around at the protest were the police. This year’s protest was more tame than last year’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. To read more about last year’s press freedom violations during the protest, read RSF’s publication: US – RSF condemns the violent assaults on journalists covering Charlottesville protests.

43 percent of Republicans believe the President should have power to close news outlets

Forty-three percent of Republicans think the president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in “bad behavior” compared with twenty-six percent of all Americans according to an Ipsos poll published on August 7. The poll consisted of a sampling of 1,003 people -- 323 Democrats, 363 Republicans, and 207 Independents. It was also revealed that 48 percent of Republicans believe the news media is the “enemy of the people” despite 85 percent believing “freedom of the press is essential for American democracy.”

School board asks judge to hold Florida newspaper in contempt of court for report on Parkland shooter

Members of the Broward County School Board asked a judge to hold the South Florida Sun Sentinel and two of its reporters in contempt of court for publishing a report about the Parkland shooter’s years in the school system. The Board says the newspaper published information from a report about 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, the alleged shooter, despite knowing a judge had ordered its redaction. Though the school district had blacked out two-thirds of this report to protect Cruz’s privacy rights, the Sun Sentinel was able to review those redactions after copying-and-pasting them in a Word Document, which made even the blacked-out content visible. Attorneys for the Sun Sentinel argued in court papers filed Friday that if Cruz’s privacy rights were violated, it was by the Broward school district for failing to properly shield the information contained in this report. No hearing has been scheduled yet.

The United States ranks 45th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index after falling 2 places in the last year.

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