News Guild President Bernie Lunzer, upset by increasing attacks on press freedom in general and reporters in particular, is asking his members, and unionists nationwide, to pressure their lawmakers to stand up for freedom of the press.
His decision was spurred, he told Press Associates Union News Service just after Election Day, by GOP President Donald Trumps arbitrary eviction of CNN White House Bureau Chief Jim Acosta from a press conference and revocation of Acostas credentials. The former real-estate mogul hates Acostas aggressive questions.
Lunzer said then his request was also spurred by the fact that nothing has been done to bring to book the Saudi higher-ups who-ordered the murder more than a month ago of independent outspoken journalist Adnan Khashoggi. Khashoggi was a frequent contributor to the Guild-represented Washington Post.
But its far more than that, Lunzer wrote in an union-wide e-mail.
At least 40 journalists in the United States have been physically attacked while on the job. Four more were killed in their own newsroom, where another newspaper employee also died, he said to TNG-CWAs members and their allies. The five were murdered by a gunman at the Annapolis (Md.) Capital-Gazette on June 28.
Khashoggi was dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and Acosta had his press pass yanked, was ejected from the White House grounds, and was then subject to a White House-doctored video. Meanwhile, the leader of the free world blames the media, Lunzer says of Trump.
So Lunzer is telling his members to step out of their traditional reluctance to act on specific issues and turn to Congress to protect the 1st Amendment, its freedom of the press and the right to report.
Trump loves sycophantic Fox News and rabid right-wing talk radio and its conspiracy theories. But his animosity towards a free, questioning and independent press predates his ascension to the Oval Office.
During his 2016 campaign, Trump penned in journalists in restricted areas, surrounded by threatening, howling mobs of Trumpites. Several news organizations had to hire security guards for their reporters due to the danger.
Trump also insulted and berated journalists during the campaign, and T-shirts with the legend Tree. Noose. Journalist. Some assembly required sold like hotcakes at his rallies.
And while Lunzer did not say so, this year on the campaign trail, Trump praised Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., for slugging and beating a Guardian reporter the year before. The reporter asked Gianforte to explain his stand on repealing the Affordable Care Act, the day before the special election which Gianforte won.
With all this as background, Lunzer knows reporters print and broadcast will get no protection or aid from the Oval Office. So he wants his members and their allies to turn to the incoming Congress for help.
Tell your member of Congress to stand for a free press! Lunzers e-mail repeatedly urges.
They may get it in the Democratic-run House next year, as Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., introduced a pro-press freedom measure early this year. It went nowhere in the GOP-run Congress. In the meantime, CNN sued Trumps White House on Acostas behalf, saying his denial and ejection is a press freedom issue. When Fox joined the suit, its subscribers howled.
When journalists are killed or threatened, we mourn their deaths and pray for their safety. Such attacks also diminish the free press that is protected in this countrys constitution. And when politicians wrongfully accuse journalists of misdeeds, we stand with our colleagues, Lunzer said.
We demand that our nations leaders end the rhetoric that encourages evil people to act out their evil with impunity, he adds.
Journalists typically dont involve themselves in issues in the public realm. In this case, however, we are the ones being attacked. If we dont stand up for ourselves and our profession, then who will? And if journalists are no longer able to spread the truth, then only lies will remain.
The situation has only become more dire as more journalists die and attacks increase, he warns.
But theres another way reporters and other media members can protect themselves against assaults by Trump, Trumpites and their supporters, Lunzer declares: Unionize. Only by standing with one another can we not only defend, but improve, the profession we love, he declares.
Stand up for yourself. Stand up for your colleagues. Stand up for your profession. Defend the 1stAmendment. Do it while we still have one.