The right of members of the news media to cover protests, demonstrations and rallies is foundational to our democracy. Yet police in California are increasingly detaining, arresting and physically assaulting journalists covering events even after they have clearly identified themselves as members of the press.
Gov. Gavin Newsom should sign SB 98 into law, protecting journalists’ ability to keep the public informed of political protests and other occasions in which police have legitimate reasons for sealing off areas from the general public.
It’s critical that the governor send a clear message to police agencies that reporters have the right to report on not only protests but also how police are responding to civil disturbances and emergencies.
Californians should be aware that in the past 18 months, police have inappropriately interfered with reporters’ and photographers’ work, including:
• Bay Area News Group reporter Leonardo Castañeda was detained with zip ties on May 31, 2020, at a protest in San Francisco, despite wearing his press lanyard.
• That same night, Bay Area News Group reporter Maggie Angst, covering a protest in San Jose, was ordered by police to lie down with her face to the ground, even after identifying herself as a reporter.
• San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Andrew Dyer was shot with pepper balls while documenting protests on the same evening in La Mesa.
• Police detained KPIX 5 News reporter Katie Nielsen while she was documenting protests in Oakland on June 1, 2020.
• KCRW reporter Cerise Castle was hit by a rubber bullet fired by a police officer during a Los Angeles protest on May 31, 2020. She was holding her press badge above her head at the time she was shot.
The right of journalists to report on the scene of events has long been recognized and protected by the courts. In 1966, in Mills vs. Alabama, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, writing for the majority, made clear that news reporting serves the crucial First Amendment interest in promoting the “free discussion of public affairs.”
SB 98, authored by state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, clarifies that journalists have the right for authorized reporters, photographers and camera operators to access protests and demonstrations. The bill had strong support in the Legislature, passing the state Senate by a vote of 29-5 and the Assembly by 50-18.
Newsom vetoed a similar bill last year, saying it too broadly defined journalists, posing a potential security risk for police during protests and demonstrations. McGwire’s bill would allow access to any “duly authorized representative of any news service, online news service, newspaper, or radio or television station or network.” Journalists should be expected to have their credentials on hand and immediately show them to law enforcement officers upon request.
The governor should sign SB 98 and stop police from preventing journalists from doing work in the public interest.
