Safety advisory for journalists covering the Olympic and Paralympic Games
July 13, 2012 Leave a comment
By Natasha Lennard and Helena Williams
Olympics rings on Tower Bridge, London. The Olympics will attract an estimated 260,000 visitors to the capital. (Flickr/ymmat)
With two weeks until the Olympic Games begin in London, journalists covering the international sporting event should be aware of the security concerns there.
The Olympics run from 27 July to 12 August and the Paralympics run from 29 August to 9 September. The events will attract an estimated 260,000 visitors to the capital.
London is already one of the most surveyed locations in the world, with more CCTV cameras than any other city, but the media’s focus on Olympic security has highlighted some of the more extreme measures taken – most notably the stationing of surface-to-air missiles atop nearby apartment complexes in East London.
London is on a high security alert ahead of the Olympics. The army, the police, private security firms and teams of hazardous materials handlers are on standby for any security-related incidents.
Covering the black bloc
June 8, 2012 1 Comment
Proper risk assessment requires understanding why some protesters attack journalists
By Natasha Lennard
The Occupy Wall Street protests are challenging for reporters to cover safely (Flickr/Sunset Parkerpix)
Since Occupy Wall Street’s inception in New York last September and consequent spread throughout the U.S., hundreds of journalists found themselves covering tense street protests, often for the first time. Within weeks reporters -credentialed, staff, independent and citizen journalists alike – found they were not immune to arrest or harassment from police.
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Filed under Comment, INSI Blog Tagged with Black Bloc, citizen journalist, civil unrest, New York, Occupy Wall Street, OWS, photography, press freedom, protests, Tim Pool