SPJ Protests Harassment of Reporters Covering Scalia

[ Thanks david for that rearrangement that summed the article up
correctly.  -j ]

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000484650

SPJ Protests Harassment of Reporters Covering Scalia
Aya Kawano
By E&P Staff

Published: April 09, 2004 1:53 PM EST, updated at 2:18 PM

NEW YORK The Society of Professional Journalists today called on Supreme
Court Justice Antonin Scalia "to respect the First Amendment rights of
journalists to gather news when he speaks at public events." Meanwhile,
the Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press has filed a complaint
with U.S. Attorney John Ashcroft, the U.S. Marshals Service and
Mississippi authorities, according to the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American.

And The Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) expressed
outrage at the incident.

A federal marshal ordered two print journalists Wednesday covering
Scalia's speech at a high school in Hattiesburg, Miss., to erase their
audio recordings of the event. At other Scalia events in the same city,
broadcast journalists were asked to turn off their cameras.

"In what can be only described as an ultimate Constitutional irony,
Scalia was praising the Constitution and its First Amendment while a
federal marshal harassed reporters and curtailed their right to gather
news at a public appearance," said Joel Campell, SPJ's Freedom of
Information Committee co-chair.

According to the SPJ, Scalia told students at Presbyterian Christian
High School: "You may wonder what makes our Constitution so special. I
am here to persuade you that our Constitution is something
extraordinary, something to revere."

SPJ President Gordon "Mac" McKerral said the students attending Scalia's
speech should realize that actions speak louder than words. "It's
unfortunate that Justice Scalia provided a lesson in disrespect for the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution he claims to so dearly love,"
McKerral said, in a statement. "This incident makes his remarks ring
hollow and places him above the law, the epitome of arrogance for a
judge, much less a U.S. Supreme Court Justice."

Jon Broadbooks, executive editor of the Hattiesburg American and vice
president of the Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information, told his
newspaper: "We are deeply concerned over the manner in which this
incident was handled. When we have answers to some of our questions we
will determine an appropriate next step."

Judith "Skippy" Haik, president and publisher of the Hattiesburg
American, said she was "very disappointed that one of the strongest
voices for the people of the United States did not speak out in
protection of First Amendment rights."
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