Newsletter - Jennifer Karchmer || Independent. Journalist.

Podcast recommendation: "Our Curious Amalgam"

6/8/2021

"Our Curious Amalgam"

Episode 118: What’s the Role of Journalism in Antitrust?: A Conversation with Leah Nylen

Runtime:
36:27

Episode post date:
June 7, 2021

Why I enjoyed it:
As a journalist, I loved hearing about Leah Nylen's journey into the profession. Nylen, a seasoned reporter, recounts how the film "All the President's Men" influenced her as a youngster. (It has to do with meeting mysterious sources in parking garages.)

Guest:
Leah Nylen, a reporter with @politico who covers #antitrust. She talks about cultivating sources and writing in plain English for her audiences.

Hosts:
John Roberti of Allen & Overy LLP teams with Anora Wang of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

Link to episode:
https://bit.ly/3puVGdr

Jennifer's tidbit:
Be sure to listen all the way through to hear their lighthearted discussion regarding tattoos.

Hashtags to follow:
@leah_nylen
@JohnRoberti1
@AnoraWang
#dwtAntitrust
@DWTLaw
@abaantitrust

Brief rundown, in order, of some of the topics they explore:
*Tips for lawyers speaking to journalists including the difference between "off the record" and "on the record." What does speaking "on background" mean?

*What is PACER? https://lnkd.in/dUtbx7h

*Do journalist’s have an agenda, and are journalist’s neutral?

*Who was Ida Tarbell and why is she important to journalism?

*Who is Lina Khan?

*Most important thing Leah has learned from covering antitrust

*Tips for lawyers who want to be quoted by journalists.

*Redacting tattoos

*Ideas for an anti-trust tattoo :-)
###

Washington and California Reporters Get Free Legal Help

1/1/2021

Microsoft and Davis Wright Tremaine Protect Journalists

Freelance journalists and small newsrooms that lack funds to hire lawyers can get pro bono legal representation from Microsoft and Seattle law firm Davis Wright Tremaine.

The two companies joined forces in 2020 to launch the Protecting Journalists Pro Bono Program. Attorneys from Microsoft and DWT with media law training are offering pro bono assistance in three areas important to newsrooms and freelancers: 1) pre-publication review of articles, 2) Freedom of Information requests, and 3) quashing subpoenas that try to force a journalist to hand over their notes or confidential sources.

The term pro bono comes from the Latin pro bono publico -
“for the public good.”

The partnership also relies on existing resources that three nonprofits known for their work defending press freedom offer: The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), the First Amendment Coalition (FAC) and the Washington Coalition for Open Government (WCOG). Each of these maintains a helpline to field calls from reporters so they will make referrals to the program for pro bono work.
Sima Sarrafan, a Senior Attorney at Microsoft who had worked at DWT and was drawn to First Amendment issues, came up with the idea to collaborate after attending a DWT seminar on how to defend a journalist from a subpoena.

“I knew that there was an opportunity there to take the investment of time that we’re all frankly making in pro bono work and add another way to channel that,” she said on Nov. 23 during a phone interview. The idea to provide pro bono help percolated for her as she noticed an imbalance of power between those who try to use the law to silence and censor voices, and reporters and newsrooms that lack the ability to pay attorney fees. “The specter that [a journalist] may get sued and financially taken down by the threat of someone who doesn’t want that story to be told I think is unfair,” she added.

“The specter that [a journalist] may get sued and financially taken down by the threat of someone who doesn’t want that story to be told I think is unfair."
-Sima Sarrafan, a Senior Attorney at Microsoft

Most law firms offer pro bono assistance as the American Bar Association recommends in its Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Rule 6.1) that lawyers provide at least 50 volunteer hours a year. The term pro bono comes from the Latin pro bono publico, which means “for the public good.”

The seminar Sarrafan attended was created by DWT Partner and longtime newsroom attorney Thomas Burke, who has defended journalists and the First Amendment for close to 30 years. He also chairs the firm’s Pro Bono and Social Impact committee, so when the two spoke in January 2020, they formed the program as a pilot starting in Washington and California with the hope to expand nationwide.

Threats Against Journalism
Such an initiative comes at an appropriate time in the industry. Journalists and newsrooms are under threat, pressured to produce more content with less resources — including legal advice, and there’s an increase in libel threats, subpoena requests, and physical assaults on reporters while covering demonstrations. Since 2017, at least 82 journalists have been subpoenaed or had their records seized, and some have received multiple subpoenas, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, maintained by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The tracker monitors arrests, physical attacks, border stops, equipment damage, subpoenas, legal orders and other violations against reporters.

For a local case of a journalist subpoena, we can look to summer 2020 when The Seattle Times and four Seattle TV stations were being forced by the Seattle Police Department to hand over unpublished images and video from the May 30 racial justice protests. The SPD wanted the footage to aid in solving crimes that occurred in downtown Seattle that weekend.

With DWT as their legal counsel, the media outlets fought the subpoena for months, trying to convince the judge that the media is not an arm of the government. They had appealed a judge’s decision that the subpoena was enforceable, but eventually the SPD dropped their pursuit (see Whatcom Watch, Oct/Nov. 2020, “A Win For Press Freedom”).

The American Bar Association recommends
lawyers provide at least 50 volunteer hours a year -
From the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Rule 6.1)

Of course, an established news company like The Seattle Times has the resources to retain a firm like DWT that specializes in defending the First Amendment.

However, a freelance reporter or a community newsroom would have their hands full with a subpoena — facing the threat of jail time if they don’t comply, a mountain of attorney fees, and confusing legalese to sift through.

“The first one was scary, but after that, we knew what our rights were as reporters, and that [the subpoena] could be quashed,” said Illinois journalist John Kraft in a Dec. 23 email. Kraft, who has been served four subpoenas for his reporting for Edgar County Watchdogs, contacted the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) for pro bono assistance. He estimated attorney fees would be in the $5,000 to $10,000 range, effectively shutting down the nonprofit government watchdog blog he started with fellow muckraker Kirk Allen. “We would have faced financial ruin if we did not have support from nonprofits interested in assisting reporters with legal issues,” Kraft added.

When Western Washington University Associate Professor of Journalism Carolyn Nielsen was subpoenaed years ago, she sought pro bono assistance from RCFP, which got her in contact with DWT attorneys. In 2010, the city of Chicago/Chicago Police Department were asking for her notes related to a story she wrote in 1994 while a graduate student at Northwestern University.

Nielsen, who has helped The Western Front student journalists fight subpoenas, was “outraged” about The Seattle Times subpoena case. “That this even happened showed the critical need for legal defense for journalists,” she said in a Dec. 16 email.

For the Public Good
Journalists and newsrooms in Washington or California that seek pro bono assistance in any of the three areas of the program: 1) pre-publication review, 2) FOI assistance, or 3) quashing a subpoena, can contact The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), the First Amendment Coalition (FAC) and the Washington Coalition for Open Government (WCOG). Go to their websites and locate their reporter’s hotline.

Washington, D.C.-based RCFP, for example, has a 24/7 reporter’s hotline, which has experienced an increase in requests the past few years, according to staff attorney Sarah Matthews, who spoke via phone interview on Nov. 19. The RCFP hotline has been in existence since the 1970s, she said, and calls and email requests have increased by about 30 percent from 2013, the latest data show. She expects the number for 2020 to exceed the prior year, because as of September, there were 350 requests — about the same amount for all of 2019.

Matthews, who worked on her high school and college newspapers and interned at Newsweek, says journalists need support to pursue their work holding government accountable. In its 2019-2020 Report to Donors, the RCFP said journalists and newsrooms would more aggressively pursue investigative reporting, “if they had access to an attorney to review sensitive stories before they are published and provide defensive support when reporters are served with subpoenas or threatened with lawsuits.”

First Amendment Coalition Executive Director David Snyder is thrilled to be on board with the program because FAC’s mission is to assist news outlets that don’t have a legal department or regular access to a team of media lawyers. “Because we have so many more fledgling news outlets, and so many fewer newspapers with the budget to hire lawyers, there are too many journalists going without legal help,” he said on Dec. 10 in an email interview.

Like RCFP, FAC maintains a helpline, which addressed more than 750 requests in 2019. FAC fields queries from reporters and members of the public alike, ranging from issues related to public records and public meetings to subpoenas to the First Amendment, according to Snyder. FAC doesn’t offer pre-publication review for reporters.

To combat the threat to journalistic freedom a subpoena can pose, FAC has its Subpoena Defense Initiative, a referral network of attorneys specially trained in protecting journalists.

“When someone enlists the power of the courts to compel journalists to testify or turn over unpublished materials, they undermine the ability of the press to operate independently of the government,” according to the FAC website.

Many states, including Washington and California, have shield laws to protect a journalist’s privilege, and federal circuit courts have recognized a journalist’s right to refuse to disclose their notes. The Seattle Police Department subpoena from last summer, which tried to compel The Seattle Times and the four TV news stations to provide unpublished material, was the first significant appellate test of Washington’s 2007 shield statute, RCW 5.68.010, according to Eric Stahl, a DWT attorney who defended The Seattle Times and the TV stations. Stahl served as one of Nielsen’s lawyers in her subpoena case, too. He said the purpose of the shield law is not only to protect reporters from appearing like they are an arm of the state, but also to encourage the public and potential sources to confide in reporters.

“I think if the press had to respond [to a subpoena], any time they had potentially discoverable information in some lawsuit, the burden on their time would be extreme,” Stahl said in a Nov. 20 phone interview. “It would prevent them from doing their jobs. It would cause sources to dry up and be less and less willing to disclose information on matters of public interest.”

Resources for Journalists
Journalism organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists and Reporters Without Borders each offer a unique perspective and resources to defend press freedom. The Protecting Journalists Pro Bono Program is not trying to replace the work done by those organizations, but rather enhance journalist safety, according to Burke. Reporters should be able to do their work unencumbered and publish important stories, he added.

For the pre-publication service, the program provides trained media lawyers to review news articles, podcast scripts and other journalistic productions for potentially libelous or defamatory language. Burke emphasizes that their lawyers can provide guidance and advice, but ultimately, it’s the reporter in control of what goes to print.

“We don’t make a decision about what they publish or what they don’t publish,” said Burke, who also teaches media law at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. “We help them identify risks and we talk them through those based on the review that we’ve done.”

The second arm of the program, FOI assistance, can help journalists who are getting pushback from agencies on open government requests. The Washington State Coalition for Open Government makes referrals to the program specifically for journalists who are experiencing resistance by agencies to provide public records, according to WCOG President Toby Nixon. The WCOG helpline receives two to three requests per week, on average, he said in a Dec. 17 email, and those calls come from journalists and members of the public.

The third component of the program is the subpoena support. Receiving a subpoena can be daunting for a freelancer who’s focused on reporting and writing and not defending herself/himself in a legal battle nor considering the consequences, which as mentioned, could include jail time.

“Generally, any person who is asked or ordered to testify at a legal proceeding, or to produce documents relevant to one, is required to comply,” according to Jonathan Peters, Associate Professor of Journalism/Law at The University of Georgia. In his 2016 Columbia Journalism Review article, “Shield laws and journalist’s privilege: The basics every reporter should know,” Peters says the purpose of the penalty is not to punish, but to “extract compliance.”

Experts agree, a reporter who receives a subpoena requesting notes, materials or sources should seek the help of an experienced media attorney and act quickly as a subpoena typically has a deadline to respond.
___________________________
This article was originally published on Whatcom Watch:
https://whatcomwatch.org/index.php/article/washington-reporters-get-free-legal-help/

Judge Orders Seattle Times to Give Up Video and Photos

7/24/2020

2020-06-29_declaration_of_danny_gawlowski_in_support_of_objections_to_subpoena_for_protected_newsgathering_material.pdf

2020-06-29_objections_to_subpoena_for_protected_newsgathering_material.pdf

subpoena-duces-tecum-seattle-times-company-et-al.pdf

Q & A: My 10-day silent meditation retreat in Washington state

12/1/2019

Jennifer Karchmer was a student in a ten-day silent meditation retreat in March 2011 through the Northwest Vipassana Center, known as Dhamma Kuñja, located in Onalaska, WA. What follows is Jennifer’s personal experience, as told in interview form while she was living in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2012.

Click here to read the entire article on Medium:
https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/jennifer-karchmer-was-a-student-in-a-ten-day-silent-meditation-retreat-in-washington-state-f1af95577f27

Ask a career coach

11/1/2019

New Job? Here are five tips to help you thrive — and survive

Landing a new job can be exciting and scary at the same time. You’re pumped for the challenges (and to receive your fat paycheck!) but maybe a little nervous too about how you’ll fare fitting into already-established workgroups.

If you’ve been wanting to start a new daily routine to stay centered and calm especially in your high-powered career, now is the time.

Click here to read the entire article on Medium:
https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/ask-a-career-coach-bb92fc518494

Q & A: How I beat my food addiction (and you can too)

10/1/2019

Since 2014, Jennifer Karchmer has been successful in beating her eating addiction, abstaining from two trigger foods — chocolate and ice cream — sweets that she abused for several years. This is a Q & A interview with Jennifer on what lead to her out-of-control eating, how she addressed the behavior and the steps and mindset she has adopted to address her addiction. Jennifer, 49, lives in Washington state, USA. The interview was conducted Nov. 10, 2019.

Read the entire article on Medium: https://medium.com/@journalist_jk/how-i-beat-my-food-addiction-2c41e5176c69

My First Writer's Retreat: Write Doe Bay

1/30/2018

by Jennifer Karchmer

Plenty of time for writing exercises at Write Doe Bay. Photo courtesy: Casey Sjogren.

I'm hot and cold about writer's retreats. This is pretty funny because I've been a professional writer for more than 25 years, so you'd think that I would jump at the chance to share a comfy couch with fellow scribes and commiserate about the craft.

But my relationship to the weekend escape known as the retreat is more like a "Sam and Diane" connection (think TV show "Cheers") rather than a hand-in-glove love affair. I'm a writer in passion, talent and career, but I tend to resist the meta — the bird's-eye view of writing.

This ambivalence is rooted in two precepts common to many writers — fear and procrastination. What if I find out that my writing sucks, that everyone else is better than me? Am I just stalling by getting away from it all, when what I really need is to get my butt in the chair?

"A writer writes, right? How could attending a veritable break get more words on the page," I thought?

Last fall, I decided to drop all of this psychological baggage to attend Write Doe Bay, a writer's mecca in Washington state that dubs itself, "an intimate artists' retreat and multi-workshop event..." Now that the dust has settled, I can say this three-day weekend (Oct. 6-8, 2017) gave me ...

Invoking the Muse: Resist the Cloak of Self Consciousness

12/11/2017

I grab Betsy Lerner's advice to writers when I'm feeling down or blue about my writing.

Don’t tell my editor this: I've always had trouble meeting deadlines. The moments leading up to the finale crush me as I work frantically getting a piece done, sometimes kicking myself that I didn't dig deeper sooner.

What exactly do I resist? Avoid? Battle with? Struggle with?

So I ask myself: Is it fear of failure? Fear of performing? Fear of rejection?

When I write, I see the faces of my audience, as if I’m on stage. I’m ready to utter my lines, but my throat tightens with censorship. Will the performance be as good as the rehearsal?

I write the story in my head, but when I face the page, my mind is blank like a painter’s new canvas. Why does that prospect instill panic, rather than entice like an invitation?

As I sit at my desk toiling over my next draft, judgment enters the room. She takes a seat, clipboard firmly clasped against her chest. She bites the end of a pen, her peering eyes above the bifocals ooze critique. She’s not front row and center shaking her head. Rather, I see her midway, maybe seven or eight rows back, just far enough to give the guise of objectivity, yet close enough that I can feel her heat.

These worries are cliché: a writer stalled, mind numb, paralyzed in the chair, what to write?

Enough of this, I say.

I’ve been resisting the muse for too long. I take an ice pick to my writer’s block; it’s time to chip away. I turn to my best friends on my bookshelf: King, Lamott, Goldberg and others who instruct and inspire. Strunk & White are in the corner (smoking a cig and sipping whisky).

The block begins to melt, just slightly. I pull a marked-up paperback off the shelf. On the cover, I see six thin pencils, standing at attention, serving as tree trunks to the web of ideas a writer calls upon when she grabs words from head and heart. The inside back cover is like a New York City subway car in the 80s: scribbled graffiti with lists, arrows, bullet points -- my notes from the first time I read the book.

Scribbled notes inside my copy of "The Forest for the Trees."

It’s “The Forest for the Trees,” by Betsy Lerner, a long-time editor. She dubs it “Advice to Writers,” gently providing food for thought in the Track Changes of our writer minds. It’s one of my favorites, and today, I summon her counsel.

As I flip through the pages, I happily find several passages that I had circled, underlined or starred to remind me why I am a writer, why I struggle with my confidence and why I resist my muse.

From Lerner, I learn:

“The ambivalent writer is often so preoccupied with greatness, both desiring it and believing that every sentence (s)he commits to paper has to last for eternity, that (s)he can’t get started.”

“Whatever you do, don’t censor yourself. There’s always time and editors for that.”

“If you are writing to prove yourself to the world, to quiet the naysayers at last, to your cold and distant father take notice, I say go for it.”

“Writing demands that you keep at bay the demons insisting that you are not worthy or that your ideas are idiotic or that your command of the language is insufficient.”

“The ambivalent writer confuses procrastination with research."

Ah! I recall the day I originally highlighted these poetic and prophetic paragraphs. As a collective, they lecture me like a professor: Your writing is like a piece of clay. You don't begin with the etchings of the tiny details and fine lines. You must build the foundation before it takes shape. So too with writing, one must put the thing up and lay it out. You cannot carve away (edit) pieces that could be saved for good use later.

Early in “Trees,” Lerner tells a story of the time when she got to study with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jorie Graham. One day during a private conference, Graham had played a trick on Lerner – one that set in motion a detective's work of discovery.

To be instructive, Graham had reassembled a series of the student's poems in such a way that transformed Lerner's approach to writing. The poems had gone from “acorns" to "an oak,” Lerner recalls.

Judgment does not have to be front and center; relegate her to the back row.

With renewed creativity and a permission slip to experiment, Lerner rushed home and sifted through her poems to create new masterpieces, which eventually got published in prestigious literary journals.

“If you are struggling with what you should be writing, look at your scraps,” she says.

Back at my desk, I sit down and pull the paper snowballs out of the trash. I dust off an unfinished essay that was demoted to the lower drawer I rarely open.

I hear Lerner's advice continue: “Whatever you do, I beg you not to look at the bestseller lists.”

Don’t try to copy what already exists, she says. Look at your scraps; therein lies your pot of gold.

Now, resist the voices that sit on your shoulder. Judgment does not have to be front and center; relegate her to the back row, I tell myself.

A version of this article was originally published in Red Wheelbarrow Writers.

When Is the Right Time to Hire A Coach?

10/31/2017

by Jennifer Karchmer

How long have you been dreaming about opening a restaurant? How about quitting your day job and travelling around the world? Maybe you’re still thinking about getting that yoga certification? Or wondering when you’ll get published even though you’ve stuffed 50 pages of your memoir in a drawer because you’re worrying it’s not any good?

We all have lifelong dreams. They drive our passions and feed our imaginations. For some, we lock them away (like the manuscript) because we think they are out of reach, too lofty, or “crazy.”

It’s easy to get discouraged when you share your vision with friends or family only to get shot down with: “It costs too much. Your head is in the clouds. That will never happen. It’s too expensive. It will take forever.” On and on those negative thoughts permeate your daily life and soon enough, the dream bubble is burst and we truly believe that our dreams are as far away as the sun.

So how do you get your dreams off the ground,
ignore the naysayers and make them reality?

It’s a mindset, and those who are fortunate enough to have reached their goals or who are living their dreams didn’t get there because of a big bank account or supernatural powers.

Hiring a personal coach is a wonderful way to help quell destructive thoughts. By working one-on-one with a coach – someone who’s objective, compassionate and focused on you every week – you can gain a new perspective on what’s been holding you back and suppress those irrational fears that serve only as roadblocks.

Each coach is a little different: consider the life coach, the business coach, the personal coach, the writing coach. Some work with you online, by phone or by a Skype call. Figure out which method works best for you and choose accordingly.

Think of coaching as brainstorming with an impartial visitor who you meet with once or twice a week. You can get the best results when you connect over several weeks or months so you can build together and see progress through measurable goals.

Business coach Theo Mahy works with clients worldwide. Photo courtesy Theo Mahy.

Digging Deep
Theo Mahy is a business coach in New York. Originally from France, Mahy came to the US to help other French entrepreneurs relocate to the States and find new ventures and grow their businesses. He’s since branched out and works with a variety of clients, from college administrators, to restaurant owners, to athletic company CEOs to freelance writers.

“It’s like digging deep,” Mahy says. By giving yourself at least one hour each week, you can “let go and work on yourself and create value just around you.” Mahy himself worked regularly with a coach when he was student. It was a great way to set up measurable goals and, most of all, stay accountable. When we know we have to report to someone, we’re more likely to do the work, he says. Those sessions, “help you see yourself as powerful.” And who doesn’t want to powerful?

So how do you know it’s the right time?
If you’ve considered working with a coach, then you’re ready. Just having the idea percolate in your mind means it’s important to you and that your dreams are poised to become reality. Somewhere in there is a block but you’re open to sharing your most intimate fears and doubts with an objective third-party.

Your BFF and your mom lend a listening ear, but a professional coach will give you the good, the bad and the ugly truth about your mindset.

So what is holding you back. Perhaps it’s opening up to a stranger? The dent in your pocketbook? Does the thought of actually achieving your dreams seem scary?

Here are some common fears and ways to overcome them:

Fear: "I’m nervous about opening up to a stranger."
Solution: Do your homework and work with someone who shares your vision. A professional will listen non-judgmentally and keep your information confidential too. Search online for keywords that are important to you (i.e., fitness, dreams, lose weight, travel, etc). Send emails, ask about rates, read up on the coach’s philosophy and see if you’re a match.
Fear: "I can’t afford it."
Solution: You can’t afford not to. It’s a cliché but true. Working with a coach is a long-term investment. What you get out of each session is knowledge and inspiration and practical advice that you will hold onto and use for the rest of your life. Changing your mindset from negative to positive is like money in the bank so start saving today.
Fear: "What if I don’t achieve my goal?"
Solution: But what if you do? Moving to Africa, becoming a best-selling novelist, earning your pilot’s license – does the thought of achieving your lifelong dream give you the butterflies or catapult you to a stratosphere that is impossible to imagine? You need to believe it before you can achieve it (someone said that). Your first step is to accept what you really want is within reach.

The bottom line: if you’re even thinking about working with a coach to reach your dreams, then the time is now to find the right person who can guide you and help keep you accountable. Why wait any longer to be able to say, “I have fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams.”

Jennifer Karchmer is a writing coach and editorial consultant who helps people of all walks of life improve their writing. Check out her Live BIG! session too.

How to handle an assault on the press

7/18/2017

Image courtesy: www.FreePress.net

Back in the day when I was a reporter for my hometown paper, The Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal, we were advised to carry a stack of coins in our pockets to make a call from a pay phone to get an attorney on the line in case of trouble. This advice was mostly for the reporters covering crime and the courts. As a reporter on the business section, the most danger I could expect was pissing off potential advertisers.

Today, however, the advice to reporters covering politics, demonstrations, and even run-of-the-mill public meetings has shifted: program your lawyer’s number on your smartphone’s speed dial, and make sure your bank account is flush so you can make bail if you find yourself in handcuffs.

Click here for a replay of the webinar
"What To Do If You Are Assaulted or Arrested"
https://goo.gl/gc6HgC

During a live one-hour webinar organized by The National Press Foundation last week, two reporters and a media attorney suggested several ways we can prepare for the worst if we are threatened or assaulted on the job.

Increase in risk
Unfortunately, hazards aren’t reserved for war correspondents trekking through conflict regions and dodging bullets. Apparently, attending public meetings and interviewing political figures come with a level of physical risk, as seen in a few recent incidents of reporters being shoved and knocked around.

For example, in May, John Donnelly, a senior defense writer and reporter with Congressional Quarterly Roll Call, was pinned against a wall in a public hallway at the Federal Communications Commission building.

Screenshot from the July 11 webinar, What to do If You Are Assaulted or Arrested, hosted by the National Press Foundation. (L to R): Sandy Johnson, John Donnelly, Kevin Goldberg.

Donnelly (seen in screenshot, center) was asking a routine question of FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly when Donnelly was mistreated by security guards. O’Rielly later apologized via Twitter for what happened. Donnelly did not pursue charges.

“We shined a pretty bright light on what they did,” said Donnelly, a panelist on the webinar, livestreamed from The Evelyn Y. Davis Studios in Wash, D.C. “Don’t be silent about it. Hold them accountable.”

A few week’s later, in a separate but similar physical incident, Montana lawmaker Greg Gianforte was charged with assaulting reporter Ben Jacobs of The Guardian. Gianforte pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, and too, later apologized.

Suggested protocol
So what should a reporter do in these situations?

National Press Foundation President and COO Sandy Johnson, who served as panel moderator posed: Does the press cower, reserve questions only for sanctioned press conferences, or go through a dedicated public information officer for comment?

“I hope newsroom leaders figure out guidelines and strategies to share with reporters on the front lines,” Johnson said.

Some strategies are proactive, like identifying a safe meeting place to retreat to in case of emergency, said Kevin Goldberg, the media attorney on the panel. Also, before leaving the newsroom, reporters are advised to program into their phone names and numbers of media lawyers.

It doesn’t hurt to save contact information for a media organization that defends reporters like the National Press Foundation (NPF), the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Reporters without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). (Editor's note: Create a laminated emergency card in case your phone or notebook gets taken away. Keep the card in your pants or sock.)

"Don’t be silent about it. Hold them accountable.” reporter John Donnelly

Further, Goldberg recommended reporters practice keeping cool so when they are faced with arrest, their demeanor works in their favor.

“If you find yourself being threatened or in a violent situation, stay calm, try to record the incident on your smartphone, camera or recorder, get names and lock eyes with someone sympathetic in the crowd. Get them to realize you’re in trouble,” said Goldberg, with the law firm Fletcher, Heald and Hildreth.

Despite the competitive nature of the news industry, it might not be a bad idea to collaborate with fellow reporters and news outlets by working in teams.

“Set aside competition for the sake of safety,” he said.

Tips for journalists in the field

Program your smartphone ahead of time with important names/numbers
Carry numbers for a media attorney and CPJ, SPJ etc. in your shoe or on a laminated card, in case your notebook or phone are confiscated.
If arrested or threatened, stay calm and polite.
Take notes or record the incident, if you can.
Lock eyes with a fellow reporter to indicate you need help and urge them to take notes or record the incident.

You may also be interested in:
"How to Deal With Intimidation," webinar hosted by the the National Press Foundation
https://goo.gl/eJ6SDZ

As we know, threats against the press aren’t new, Goldberg reminded. Don’t forget Occupy Wall Street – a tense time for reporters who were the target of police violence and arrests.

Johnson, the moderator, continued with questions from audience members attending via Facebook and Twitter: “What do these incidents mean for reporters, and more importantly, for the public?”

Donnelly was quick to chime in: “What really sticks in my craw, are people who ask, ‘Why should we care [about threats to the press]?’ This is the heart of this whole issue.”

He said: “The National Press Foundation and all of these groups need to really think about educating the public about the importance of the press. If a large number of people don’t get that, then we’re not going to be protected.”

The panelists agreed that keeping silent mutes the press and merely perpetuates potential attacks. Rather than taking a defensive approach, it is best to use a seemingly isolated incident, such as shoving, as a reminder that a threat to the press is a threat to everyone’s right to know.

Don’t forget, Goldberg went on, that citizens have a right to record in public. Earlier this month, in fact, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the First Amendment right of journalists and private individuals to observe and film police officers on duty. As part of that case, the ACLU defended Temple University student Richard Fields who was arrested in 2013 while using a mobile device to photograph Philadelphia police officers breaking up a house party.

The limitation to recording in public, of course, is making sure you are not thwarting the efforts of police or emergency personnel.

“Just as long as you’re not getting in the way,” Goldberg added.

Jennifer Karchmer is an independent journalist who covers freedom of the press, conflict reporters, reporter safety, and legal issues related to the media. Don't miss her podcast The jPod, Interviews & Conversations from the desk of a journalist. Connect via the social media links below.

Links & further reading:

In case you missed the live webinar, go to: http://nationalpress.org/topic/what-to-do-if-you-are-attacked-or-arrested/?st=5498&t=Ethics&mm=Video
The Atlantic: Restoring the Public's Trust in American Journalism:https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/05/fate-of-the-fourth-estate/523893/
Poynter-U.S. Court of Appeals sides with First Amendment right to video-record police: https://goo.gl/WPav6x

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