LA protests; aging local publishers; Dom Phillips
Plus, the top press freedom headlines from around the world
Hello, and welcome to The Press Freedom Report.
I’m Liam Scott, and today I’m focused on journalists caught in the Los Angeles crosshairs; aging small-town newspaper publishers; how a journalist’s book was finished after he was killed in Brazil; and the top press freedom headlines from around the world.
Journalists caught in the crosshairs — and perhaps targeted themselves — in LA
At least 27 attacks on journalists covering protests in Los Angeles occurred between June 6 and 8, according to a tally by the Los Angeles Press Club.
Of those incidents, 24 were perpetrated by law enforcement, and three by individuals.
“Police cannot pick and choose when the First Amendment applies. Journalists in Los Angeles were not caught in the crossfire — they were targeted,” National Press Club president Mike Balsamo said.
Multiple journalists reported being shot by police with “less-than-lethal munitions, known as LLM’s, like pepper balls, rubber bullets, and tear gas canisters.
In one case, Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi was reporting live on air when police shot her with LLM. In another incident, Nick Stern, a British freelance photojournalist, had emergency surgery after a three-inch plastic bullet struck his leg on Sunday. Police also briefly detained a CNN crew.
“This is inherently dangerous work, but it’s made more dangerous by authorities who are unable or unwilling to distinguish press from protestors,” said Clayton Weimers from Reporters Without Borders.
On a personal note: I reported for the Columbia Journalism Review on what happens when small-town newspaper publishers get older
For more than a century, the McClusky Gazette has reported the news in a small town in the middle of North Dakota. But if Allan Tinker, the newspaper’s eighty-three-year-old owner and publisher, can’t find someone to take over by next spring, she plans to close its doors for good. “I just can’t assume the responsibility anymore,” Tinker said. “I’ve got to look at my health and my life—what’s left of it.”
Tinker isn’t the only one. Small-town newspapers shutting down due to the lack of a succession plan is a growing problem in nearly a dozen states, according to a tally by CJR and a number of statewide press associations.
Read the full story here.
Journalists Complete Slain Colleague’s Book
Three years ago, British journalist Dom Phillips was killed while reporting in the Amazon. This week, the book he was working on at the time was published in the United States, thanks to the help of his journalist friends.
“How to Save the Amazon” was published Tuesday in the United States, three years after Phillips was shot and killed by fishermen on June 5, 2022, in the western Amazon’s Javari Valley in Brazil. Bruno Pereira — a Brazilian expert on Indigenous tribes — was also killed in the same attack. Nine people have been indicted in the killings.
Phillips was killed during one of the final reporting trips planned for his book. After his death, and with the blessing of Phillips’ wife, a group of five friends agreed to finish the book.
In the foreword, the group said, “Like Dom, none of us was under any illusion that our writing would save the Amazon, but we could certainly follow his lead in asking the people who might know.”
Judge declines to block Trump’s Corporation for Public Broadcasting firings
A federal judge on Sunday declined to block President Donald Trump’s removal of three board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the federal agency that disburses taxpayer funds to local NPR and PBS stations around the United States.
But the entity’s CEO Patricia Harrison has signed a document saying the three members will remain on the board, according to The Hill.
On Tuesday, a bill that would claw back $1.1 billion in federal funding for public broadcasting cleared the House Rules Committee, setting it up for a floor vote later this week.
NPR and PBS say they’re being targeted over their critical reporting.
Press Freedom News Wrap
United States
DeSantis administration blasted for ‘chilling’ Florida press with cease-and-desist letter (Tallahassee Democrat)
Immigration crackdown reveals grave threat to press freedom (RCFP)
Africa
DRC: Congo bans media from covering former president and his party (The East African)
Ethiopia detains prominent journalist despite court‑ordered bail (CPJ)
Asia
Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai’s son accuses UK of ‘weakness’ on his father’s detention in Hong Kong (Financial Times)
Europe
Why the world needs the BBC’s journalism more than ever (Chatham House)
Middle East
Iran: Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh on hunger strike in Evin Prison (CPJ)
South America
Argentina: Bill to protect journalists from attacks and stigmatizing speech introduced in Argentina (La Gaceta)
Brazil charges man with killings of UK journalist, activist (AFP)
On the horizon
On another personal note: At the DC/DOX film festival in Washington this Saturday, I’ll be moderating a conversation about the documentary “Take No Prisoners,” which follows former U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens as he works to free LA public defender Eyvin Hernandez from Venezuelan prison.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back on Sunday.
Best,
Liam