A joint survey conducted by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University revealed that journalists were assaulted and arrested at an alarming rate while on the job in 2020.
Nearly ninety percent of the news directors polled for the survey revealed how they changed newsroom procedures to protect employees. They purchased bullet-proof vests and gas masks and provided security teams for reporters.
The attacks on radio reporters were less prevalent, according to the report. Four percent of radio news directors and general managers reported attacks on newsroom employees. Violence was problematic for major market outlets where the population was one million people or more.
“We faced unprecedented levels of verbal and physical violence at the hands of civilians, police and the leaders we are meant to hold accountable,” said National Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Gordon Smith. “The survey’s research team says it wanted to understand how repeated, targeted acts of violence have impacted newsrooms across the country and learned that one in five television news directors reported attacks on employees.”
This was the first year that the RTDNA conducted a survey on the dangers faced by the media while doing their jobs.
“These unacceptable attacks on our nation’s free press undermine our very democracy by preventing journalists’ ability to report the facts and keep the public informed,” Smith said. “We are grateful to the dedicated broadcast journalists bringing the truth to Americans during these dangerous times.”
