Censorship in the Gulf: AFTRA Wants to Hear from You!

 

July 8, 2010 Dear fellow AFTRA journalist members, Last week Thursday, July 1, our union—AFTRA—launched an initiative to monitor reports of denial of access to media covering the story of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and its aftermath – please click here to read the press release online. The newly launched website, www.aftra.com/access4media.htm, is a clearinghouse of published stories of censorship and firsthand accounts from newspersons submitted via a confidential on-line form. The website also features links to safety resources and related information to assist journalists in safely covering the story. As your union, AFTRA is committed to understanding the challenges newspersons face covering this important story, and providing support and solutions. This is the first phase of a campaign to monitor access issues in the Gulf and to insist on full transparency from government and corporations. In recent weeks, we have seen accounts in the media and heard from AFTRA members that, although BP and the U.S. government have promised to be open with the media, troubling instances of denied access continue. AFTRA wants to hear directly from both members and non-member newspersons about their experiences on the ground. Armed with firsthand accounts, our union intends to work together with all AFTRA members—journalists, recording artists and other performers—and our allies to advocate for the media to have unfettered and unfiltered access. Nothing less is acceptable in a democratic society. If you are a journalist covering the oil spill and its aftermath and you have been denied access to sources or locations by a government or corporate entity, AFTRA wants to hear from you.  Please visit the website, www.aftra.com/access4media.htm, or send an e-mail to access4media@aftra.com. All stories will be kept confidential and will not be shared or made public by AFTRA without your support and express permission. For more information about this initiative, please contact Amy Masciola, Strategic Campaigns Coordinator,amasciola@aftra.com, 202.285.6955, or Christopher de Haan, National Director of Communications,cdehaan@aftra.com, 323.634.8203. In solidarity, Joe Krebs Chair, AFTRA National Broadcast Steering Committee Washington-Baltimore Local Maria Leticia Gomez Vice Chair, AFTRA National Broadcast Steering Committee San Francisco Local

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