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These Are All The Attacks On Journalists At The Capitol Riots | Eliz Mizon | Chompsky

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The rioters that stormed the Capitol on Jan 6 targeted journalists — as did the police; a hallmark of authoritarianism.The mob of Trump’s followers who stormed the US Capitol on Jan 6 has been labele variously by journalists and politicians — , , . Videos have shown them strolling leisurely through the building, and after a few hours of rioting the crowd was mostly dispersed; it may appear that calling them ‘terrorists’ is a step too far into sensationalism. After all, we’ve been hearing about the unreliability of ‘The Media’ in our ‘post-truth’ world for the last few years.But emerging details of the event show how serious it was. Initial reports stated that four of the ‘protesters’ had died — one woman shot by the police, and three others from ‘medical emergencies’. It has been revealed today that a police officer also died; after reportedly being with a fire extinguisher.If the attempt to overturn the election and the several deaths aren’t enough to convince anyone that the labels ‘fascism’ or ‘terrorism’ apply, it’s confirmed that at least one homemade on the grounds of the Capitol. And as well as targeting politicians and police the mob targeted a number of journalists — a hallmark of authoritarianism.Perhaps the least dramatic of the evidence comes from this excellent news package by an ITV team, in which presenter Robert Moore can be seen (at 3:01) being shoved by a number of men shouting “Out!”:But the crowd was far more violent elsewhere. The below shows an Associated Press crew being rushed by members of the mob. None of the journalists were injured, likely only because they opted to hightail it out of there in time.The crowd was “CNN sucks!” while destroying AP’s gear. Unsurprising, given that Trump has lumped every mainstream news outlet into a monolith, unreliable beast: ‘The Media’.Buzzfeed News reporter Paul McLeod showed the aftermath of this scene:One of the most terrifying pieces of video to come out of the event was this sustained attack on Associated Press photographer John Minchillo:There was also a lengthy report from inside the Capitol by New York Times photographer Erin Schaff, who filed even after being attacked by rioters and held at gunpoint by police :Yes, unfortunately, it wasn’t only rioters who targeted journalists on the 6th. Here are Washington Post videographers Zoeann Murphy and Whitney Leaming being arrested simply for doing their jobs:This echoes not only Schaff’s experience but also the experiences of countless journalists who covered unrest across the US in 2020. Freelance journalist Linda Tirado was shot with a rubber bullet in May last year by police, resulting in the loss of an eye. She kept a record of the ordeal and its aftermath.The above are only the instances captured on video. There were countless other damning reports from the event, as outlined by New York Times media reporters Tiffany Hsu and Katie Robinson:The following testimony from Sara Gentzler, the reporter in Olympia, is chilling:[She was] accosted at a protest in Olympia, Wash., by an armed man who told them that the news media were not welcome. He added that he had pepper-sprayed other reporters earlier and said he would kill her and other journalists “in the next year.”This is all the more impactful when reporters cannot be sure the police will protect them.I am a critic of the media industry; it has at times been a part of my job description. But within that industry are a plethora of institutions, individuals, and agendas. Yes, there are fusty old broadsheets that are out of touch and tabloids that run pure fabrications, and centrists who everybody gets a chance to tear down at some point in the news cycle.But even the grifters are human beings. Within those institutions are people trying to do their jobs, report the news, and make a living — something which is becoming increasingly hard to do (but that’s another article.) It’s not only the finances that make journalism an ever more precarious career.Attacks on the press are a crucial part of fascist ideology. In 2019, the US in the World Press Freedom Index, dropping from the ‘satisfactory’ to the ‘problematic’ category. Analysts blame Trump's rhetoric, but also the key targeting of whistleblowers under Obama, and the polarising influence of Big Tech behemoths.No matter what you’re being paid, imagine this being your workplace:Accountability is paramount. Criticism is crucial. That is a vast portion of a journalist’s job description, after all; and media outlets all need to be more accountable (see: , which never happened.) But baseless attacks on ‘The Media’ without specifics are worse than useless, they’re dangerous.This is not Americans exercising their freedom of speech. It’s authoritarianism.Written byThe best UK media jobs, news, and other media and politics ephemera in your inbox, every Friday! Get this newsletter

The rioters that stormed the Capitol on Jan 6 targeted journalists — as did the police; a hallmark of authoritarianism.The mob of Trump’s followers who stormed the US Capitol on Jan 6 has been labele variously by journalists and politicians — , , . Videos have shown them strolling leisurely through the building, and after a few hours of rioting the crowd was mostly dispersed; it may appear that calling them ‘terrorists’ is a step too far into sensationalism. After all, we’ve been hearing about the unreliability of ‘The Media’ in our ‘post-truth’ world for the last few years.But emerging...

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Eliz Mizon

Medium is an online publishing platform developed by Evan Williams and launched in August 2012. It is owned by A Medium Corporation. The platform is an example of social journalism, having a hybrid collection of amateur and professional people and publications, or exclusive blogs or publishers on Medium, and is regularly regarded as a blog host.  Williams, previously co-founder of Blogger and Twitter, initially developed Medium as a way to publish writings and documents longer than Twitter's 140-character (now 280-character) maximum.

These Are All The Attacks On Journalists At The Capitol Riots | Eliz Mizon | Chompsky

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