Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Please help: urge CNN and NBC to cover the journalists' arrests.

Go to the link below and send your own message. You can also cut and paste this message to anyone you like.

Dear Friend,

Jailing journalists is unacceptable in a democracy. But that's exactly what is happening at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Award winning journalist and host of "Democracy Now" Amy Goodman was arrested by St. Paul police while covering a protest outside the Republican National Convention. Though clearly identified as press, Goodman was charged with "obstruction of a legal process and interference with a 'peace officer.'" Two of her producers were arrested for "suspicion of felony riot."

To tell you that this arrest was brutal and upsetting simply doesn't do it justice. Watch this video to see for yourself. Then take action.

I just e-mailed the presidents of CNN and NBC News (which oversees MSNBC) to demand that their networks cover this important story. I hope you will too.

Please have a look and take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/dont_arrest_journalists/?r_by=-1771899-c645Ypx&rc=confemail

Thanks!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wrote that watching the arrest was "upsetting", because watching it made me upset. Like, I was choked up and almost crying. It was just the first word that came to mind.

Plain(s)feminist said...

Yeah, it's horrible. Not fun to listen to.

Anonymous said...

I can count the times in the video (which we don't really know what happened up to the point of the video) the cop told her "Sidewalk". She seems to have a misconception that she is so "special" that cops can be simply ignored.
She seems to have failed that "im so special" test. I'm sure it is not her first time failing that one.

Plain(s)feminist said...

Cindy,
Yup, she should have listened to the cop. But I still don't think that in a peaceful situation, the cops have the right to just arrest people for not obeying them. She wanted to talk to the cops because they had just arrested two of her colleagues for rioting (which they were not doing). The police have the *power* to do sweeps and to arrest people for no reason, but we'll find out soon if the legal system believes they have the *right* to do it.

I would think that it would concern you that they wrenched her arm they way they did, given that she presented no threat and no real resistance to arest.