The RCFP submitted five takeaways from their 2020 report of press freedom: 1. Police were responsible for most of the attacks, more frequently singling out reporters at Black Lives Matter protests; 2. Arrests were up 15 fold from 2019; 3. Reporters received more subpoenas than previous years; 4. Often in retaliation, journalists were denied access to official government events; and former President Donald Trump increased his attack on journalists in 2020. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, May 3, 2021)
Journalists covering protests are increasingly subject to tear gas, assaults by law enforcement officers, seven in Minnesota during the protests after the killing of Daunte Wright in April. Last year there were 416 journalists assaulted and 139 detained or arrested. (Voice of American, May 5, 2021, by Maria Elena Little Endara)
In Poynter, May 14, 2021, Hannah Storm writes that there is more to supporting journalists than improving their physical safety. She says that in the past year journalists have faced pressures of reporting the pandemic, working remotely, and dealing with the onslaught of online abuse and lying. She urges news organizations to do more to bolster the mental health of their employees.
Professor Roy S. Gutterman, Syracuse.com, April 30, 2021, assesses the state of press freedom around the world and in the U.S. as the anti-press bombast in recent years threatens protections for journalists and their role in reporting the news. Gutterberg refers to a study of the Supreme Court that concludes that “the press’s legal standing may be on dangerously shaky ground.”