Bulletproof vests and gas masks: journalists prepare for inauguration day

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Newsrooms like the LA Times distributed protective gear and held safety trainings to prepare journalists for the opening day. Protests and protests around the ceremony in Washington, DC are typical, but after the January 6 riots, reporters are bracing for yet another violent outbreak.

“I quickly saw my role as a person who had to adapt,” Kelly told CNN Business. “My goal is to protect my staff, protect my journalists and make sure everyone is taken care of.”

According to a bulletin obtained by CNN last week, the FBI received reports that “armed protests” are planned at all 50 state capitals and the US Capitol in Washington in the days leading up to Biden’s inauguration. The Pentagon has cleared up to 25,000 National Guard members for inauguration day.
In the days following the capture of the Capitol, authorities and media have uncovered details and images that paint a picture of an attack that looks even more frightening and violent than what viewers saw live this day. that day. Among the images that surfaced in the days that followed, some showed the mob attacking journalists who were there.
At least nine journalists were physically assaulted, at least five journalists were arrested and at least four had equipment damaged while covering the insurgency, US Press Freedom Tracker editor-in-chief Kirstin McCudden told Poynter. .
While reporting inside the Capitol on January 6, LA Times congressional reporter Sarah Wire was given an escape hood and instructed by Representative Ruben Gallego on how to use it. Wire will be much more prepared for violence at Wednesday’s inauguration: The LA Times sent her a bulletproof vest, helmet, goggles, and gas mask – all of which she’s never worn. the land before.
Los Angeles Times congressional reporter Sarah Wire tries on the gas mask her newsroom sent home for the opening day cover.

Covering the inauguration is generally “very predictable,” said Tracy Grant, a 27-year veteran of the Washington Post, where she is editor. As defined by the US Constitution, the transition takes place at noon on January 20. But other details around the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are uncertain.

“All the things that are very standardized and ceremonial have been put on hold,” Grant said. “Nothing about this was predictable, so we are prepared for things to change until the last moment.”

The pandemic had already created barriers to reporting – and journalists, producers and cameramen in the field will continue to face these challenges and concerns on inauguration day.

BuzzFeed News political reporter Paul McLeod told CNN Business last week he felt “a bit relieved” ahead of the inauguration. This is because the Covid-19 test he passed after covering the events of January 6 – where many rioters were without a mask – came back negative.

Jarrad Henderson, senior media producer at USA Today who is black, said he was feeling “a little anxious” about the inauguration.

“I don’t know if I’m a target as a black photojournalist, black journalist period during this time,” Henderson said. “It is very exhausting. There are threats being made. I cannot ignore ‘Murder the Media’ which was engraved on the side of the doors of the Capitol last week.”

Media organizations recently sent tips and advice to journalists in the field. The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) last week launched a training and resource center for journalists on “ethical and safe” reporting during civil unrest.
“This is the most perilous time for journalists on the ground in modern US history,” RTDNA executive director Dan Shelley told CNN’s Brian Stelter on “Trusted Sources” on Sunday. “It’s really ubiquitous, and it’s not just the United States Capitol. It’s not just state capitals. It’s in communities large and small, in all 50 states.”

Grant said all reporters covering the day of the post’s inauguration will receive a reminder on a training program that teaches them how to make decisions in contentious situations. Journalists at the Post were also given protective equipment.

Gannet (GCI), the largest US newspaper conglomerate that publishes USA Today, The Detroit Free Press, The Arizona Republic, and hundreds of other local newspapers, hosted several panels and panels over the past week. More than 3,000 Gannett reporters listened to a panel last Wednesday where Henderson and others who were on Capitol Hill and had covered other protests shared their expertise.

Amalie Nash, senior vice president of local news at USA Today Network, recalled that staff members asked, “If I have long hair, should I think about putting it in because it might make me a target and I could be dragged by my hair? ” ; “What’s the best way to deposit if my phone is broken?”; “What’s the best way out of a situation if it becomes unstable?”

McLeod of BuzzFeed News said he would wear running shoes on inauguration day along with a bulletproof vest and backpack containing a helmet, breathing mask and goggles. He had worn some of these items on January 6.

For the opening day, McLeod said he plans to wear nothing that can identify him as a member of the press. One striking difference he noticed between Trump’s rallies and the insurgency was crowd aggression.

“For all the pageantry and theater of booing the media, when you go up to talk to people afterwards, in my experience they’ve actually been pretty polite,” McLeod said of the rally coverage. Trump. “I identified myself as a journalist with a person [on the 6th] who started yelling at me and trying to yell at others around me that I was a reporter and get all kinds of attention to me. I got out of there and obviously stopped identifying myself as a journalist for anyone. ”

The editorial staff make journalists work as a team so that no one is alone in the field. Some also engage security. Peter Gorenstein, head of content at Cheddar, told Digiday that his two journalists in the field will have a security guard that day.

Even with the potential for violence, journalists say they have a duty to be there.

“It’s risky to get out, but it’s riskier not to go out. It’s riskier to let disinformation spread,” Nicole Carroll, editor of USA Today, told Stelter on Sunday. “So we are prepared and careful and we will do our job.”

Henderson, the producer of USA Today, echoed Carroll’s sentiment about the role and responsibility of the media in documenting history.

“I just applaud everyone who comes out, who is prepared, who has been through this before, who despite their personal and professional trauma continue to come out to document this story,” said Henderson.

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