Police now shooting the messengers - NUJ at the TUC

[TonyGosling]

VIDEO: The National Union of Journalists has released a short film highlighting some of the problems faced by journalists covering public demonstrations.
http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=910

On Monday 9 September 2008 NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear delivered a slamming attack on civil liberties and press freedom at the Brighton TUC conference. The BBC video of the speech is here (59 minutes in).
http://jasonnparkinson.blogspot.com/2008/09/press-freedom-collateral-d amage.html


NUJ Press Freedom film: "Collateral Damage"
Watch it at:
http://current.com/items/89284474_press_freedom_collateral_damage

Monday 8 September 2008: Today Jeremy Dear, the General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), moved a motion at the Trade Union Congress (TUC) live on the BBC Parliament Channel in Brighton on the issue of civil liberties and police surveillance and harassment of working journalists.

Along side this, the NUJ has released a short film called Press Freedom: "Collateral Damage" which tackles the issue of police surveillance of bona fide journalists who document political dissent.

The film is a damming account of the Orwellian techniques and methods of the Metropolitan Police Forward Intelligence Team (FIT Squad) over the last few years.

This film includes evidence of the FIT Squad targeting working journalists and footage of police attacking journalists when covering protests. The film also has an interview with Jeremy Dear and photographers outside New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police.

The FIT Squad is a police unit that is trained to gather evidence at football matches, political protests and over the last year it has been used by officers in some parts of the country to target local youth on council estates for alleged anti-social behaviour.

The beacon of a free and democratic society is a free press, unhindered by intimidation, surveillance and violence, if the press is no longer free to operate and document political unrest the country is no longer free or democratic.

Press Freedom: "Collateral Damage" is just a taste of an ongoing project initiated in February 2008, using four years of personal archive footage, to be finalised as a feature documentary spanning five years of
international protest and police coverage - eta: Autumn 2009.


More links to the ongoing story here:


On Monday 9 September 2008 NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear delivered a slamming attack on civil liberties and press freedom at the Brighton TUC conference. The BBC video of the speech is here (59 minutes in).
http://jasonnparkinson.blogspot.com/2008/09/press-freedom-collateral-d amage.html

Home Secretary tells NUJ police surveillance of journalists is
"operational decision"
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=41549

VIDEO: The NUJ has released a short film highlighting some of the problems faced by journalists covering public demonstrations.
http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=910

Home Secretary says police may restrict photographers
http://www.thejournalist.org.uk/Aug08/news_photogs.html

Press Freedom: ‘Collateral Damage’ - a documentary film.
http://marcvallee.wordpress.com/category/journalism/

Police may have guidelines on dealing with the press, but photo­graphers tell ELINOR ZUKE that on the ground it can be a different matter
http://www.thejournalist.org.uk/Aug08/feat_cops_main.html

[fish5133]

Excellent video. Even though it may be a right to take photographs in public , nobody likes a camera shoved in their face and i am sure some people do it just to antagonise. After seeing this video it is quite obvious that the Police are using the tactic to scare and intimidate.Well done NUJ

[truthseeker john]

I think it a good idea for everyone who goes to a demo to have a camera. The police won't like it of course but they can't take cameras off everyone. If everyone has one, it serves as a protection for demonstrators and press people alike.

If in response it is made illegal to use a camera, it will only serve to wake more people up to what is happening - and that's just what the police state don't want. We got em!

[Busker]

This video is long overdue from the NUJ and follows a damning article in their August members' magazine about Police action against journalists.

The NUJ now need to take the next step and support members suing individual officers as individuals, rather that taking legal action against Commissioners or Chief Constables.

That is the only way we, as journalists can effect a change in behaviour of bad sections of the Police whilst supporting and protecting the good elements within the Police.

Once a few officers are sued and lose their houses as a result, I'm sure the Federation will start to give them appropriate advice on obeying orders that break the law.

We need a body of Police that works for the communities where they are based, rather than the state.

[truthseeker john]

If something isn't done we could end up in the UK like in the US...
http://www.911forum.org.uk/board/viewtopic.php?t=15681