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Editorial See other Editorial Articles Title: I will not be returning to Ferguson I had been on the ground helping Al Jazeera America** cover the protests and unrest in Ferguson, Mo., since this all started last week. After what I saw last night, I will not be returning. The behavior and number of journalists there is so appalling, that I cannot in good conscience continue to be a part of the spectacle. **A clarification edit: I am not a full-time employee of any Al Jazeera branch or network. I am a freelance journalist who contributes to several media platforms. Things I’ve seen: -Cameramen yelling at residents in public meetings for standing in way of their cameras -Cameramen yelling at community leaders for stepping away from podium microphones to better talk to residents -TV crews making small talk and laughing at the spot where Mike Brown was killed, as residents prayed, mourned -A TV crew of a to-be-left-unnamed major cable network taking pieces out of a Ferguson business retaining wall to weigh down their tent -Another major TV network renting out a gated parking lot for their one camera, not letting people in. Safely reporting the news on the other side of a tall fence. -Journalists making the story about them -National news correspondents glossing over the context and depth of this story, focusing instead on the sexy images of tear gas, rubber bullets, etc. -One reporter who, last night, said he came to Ferguson as a “networking opportunity.” He later asked me to take a picture of him with Anderson Cooper. One anecdote that stands out: as the TV cameras were doing their live shots in front of the one burnt-out building in the three-block stretch of “Ground Zero,” around the corner was a community food/goods drive. I heard one resident say: “Where are the cameras? I’m going to go see if I can find some people to film this.” Last night a frustrated resident confronted me when he saw my camera: “Yall are down here photographing US, but who gets paid?!” There are now hundreds of journalists from all over the world coming to Ferguson to film what has become a spectacle. I get the sense that many feel this is their career-maker. In the early days of all this, I was warmly greeted and approached by Ferguson residents. They were glad that journalists were there. The past two days, they do not even look at me and blatantly ignore me. I recognize that I am now just another journalist to them, and their frustration with us is clear. In the beginning there was a recognizable need for media presence, but this is the other extreme. They need time to work through this as a community, without the cameras. We should all be ashamed, and I cannot do it anymore. I am thankful for my gracious editors who understand that. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 3.
#3. To: X-15 (#0)
Didn't I call it a few days ago? Vulture media creating stories through omission of fact, through bold face lies, not reporting news - thinking this is their big chance to make their bones, to become a talking hairdo on teevee, or even win the Pulitzer Prize. Sickening. At least this free-lance journalist, who bailed from Ferguson, has scruples and decency.
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