Man attacks TV journalists filming outside of Nashville school

October 12, 2020
Two journalists for local TV station WSMV News 4 in Nashville, Tennessee, were attacked by an unidentified man on Oct. 12, 2020, as they were doing field reporting for a feature story.Caresse Jackman, a consumer news investigative reporter for WSMV, and a cameraman were recording B-roll outside of an elementary school for a segment about two women who made COVID-19 masks for students. During the shoot they were approached by a man they did not know, according to social media …

Memphis newspaper subpoenaed for photos, videos from July protest

August 13, 2020
On Aug. 13, 2020, a judge granted a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation request for a subpoena of the Commercial Appeal for photographs and videos taken by the Memphis daily during its coverage of a protest on July 4, 2020. A gag order was also put into effect.The protest took place outside the home of Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich amid a monthslong surge of demonstrations across the country, sparked by the May death of George Floyd, a Black …

Commercial Appeal journalist pushed by Memphis police officer at protest

June 1, 2020
Reporter Katherine Burgess of the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee, was pushed by a police officer with a riot shield while covering a Black Lives Matter protest at Memphis City Hall on North Main Street on June 1, 2020.The protest, in response to the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, began in the daylight hours of May 31 at the National Civil Rights museum. In a long-running thread on Twitter, Burgess posted video and text showing the movement …

Knoxville News Sentinel says reporter barred from coronavirus Zoom press briefing in apparent retaliation

May 8, 2020
The Knoxville News Sentinel said its reporter was prevented from participating in a Knox County, Tennessee, health department press briefing about the county’s COVID-19 response on May 8, 2020, in apparent retaliation for his reporting.Reporter Vincent Gabrielle had been attending the daily Zoom press briefings without incident, the Sentinel reported, recently pressing health officials to release more of the data informing the county’s reopening decisions following the lockdown to curb the spread of the pandemic.The day before the briefing, the …

Montgomery County Commission sued for ban on livestreaming chamber proceedings

August 12, 2019
On Aug. 12, 2019, the Montgomery County Commission in Clarksville, Tennessee, passed a resolution banning live video streaming inside its chambers, stating: “No live broadcast from within the Commission Chambers of its proceedings in whole or in part is allowed. A simultaneous broadcast of the proceedings is available on the internet at ‘YouTube’ and the same is preserved there for an extended period.”The resolution allowed livestreaming by news professionals, with the caveat that the media gave prior notice and had …
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