By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 7-22-20
The News Media for Open Government Coalition is renewing its call for passage of a bill to protect journalists.
The Journalist Protection Act, which was introduced in a previous Congress, would “make it a federal crime to intentionally cause bodily injury or threaten a journalist in a manner designed to intimidate him or her from gathering or reporting the news.”
The idea is to give the feds the ability to prosecute assaults on or intimidation of journalists if states or local prosecutors won’t.
The protests following the death of George Floyd have put a renewed spotlight on attacks on journalists in the line of duty. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has identified more than 500 attacks this year, including more than 100 in a three-day-period during protests in May. » Read More