Insiders told TheWrap that many reporters encountered a variety of incidents while reporting and have not seen improvements in security measures
Multiple reporters at Spectrum News’ station in Los Angeles have raised security concerns with management long before the deadly Orlando shooting — and have seen no real action to increase security, a person with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap. told. But they got a guest speaker from CNN…
“Journalists who experienced incidents in the area started raising concerns that it was becoming too dangerous to shoot in the area without any security,” the person said.
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However, Spectrum News management said it did not have the budget to pay for security accompanying reporters on dangerous assignments. Journalists in the Spectrum field are all classified as MMJs (multimedia journalists), meaning they report on-camera, shoot, write and edit their own “live shots”.
TheWrap also learned that some Spectrum journalists regularly contend with a range of security challenges, including unprovoked attacks, both verbal and physical, by random homeless people and protesters. According to another person with knowledge of the situation, there have been incidents where journalists have been harassed by politically motivated individuals.
A local L.A. reporter from a competing newsroom said, “As political rhetoric has intensified, journalists in the area have become targets, especially to the point when the term ‘fake news media’ was increasingly being used.”
A spokesperson for Spectrum News told TheWrap: “The health and safety of our employees is our top priority. While we already have safety protocols in place, we continue to listen to our journalists who live and work in our communities and are continually adopting our best practices to ensure the safest working conditions.
But according to a Spectrum News insider, following Lyons’ fatal shooting, the Los Angeles bureau called an “all hands meeting,” during which many employees expected to hear that perhaps new protocols or security were in the works. Instead, management welcomed CNN guest speaker Sarah Sidner to the meeting to discuss how to handle difficult situations and minimize conflict.
A spokeswoman for CNN told TheWrap that they could not comment on field security protocols for security reasons.
But in terms of security for reporters like Sydner, according to a CNN production source: “It will depend. Reporting teams don’t usually have security details in the field. But there have certainly been shoots where the field was like the worst of times.” security has been sent with the correspondent [the] The George Floyd unrest or some Trump rallies.
Lyons and another Spectrum News 13 employee, photojournalist Jesse Walden, were shot last week while covering the murder of a woman outside Orlando in Pine Hills.
When asked if Spectrum News has any specific policy regarding security details for MMJ in the field, the spokesperson told TheWrap: “We usually send people out in pairs when there is breaking news of any kind. At times we have sent a safety brief with our reporters. Our staff also have the right to refuse to cover a story or leave a scene at any time if they do not feel safe. “
According to the annual report of the Committee to Protect Journalists, the number of deaths of journalists worldwide will increase by almost 50% in 2022 compared to the previous year.
