How to stay safe while covering riots in the field

Advice from and for the benefit of some of my colleagues.

Compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists after they spent some time watching some members of our guild getting hit by rubber bullets during the recent unpleasantness in Los Angeles.

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Are you a journalist covering US protests? Here are 5 key safety tips:

✅Always try to work with a colleague and have a regular check-in procedure with an editor, colleague, family member, or friend.

✅If there is a risk of violence or tear gas, wear personal protective equipment that includes a helmet, eye protection, and respirator.

✅If possible, avoid carrying your personal phone. Journalists carrying their personal phones should review its contents and remove sensitive information, including contacts and apps.

✅Write down on paper or your arm the contact details of key people, such as your editor, a trusted colleague, and a legal contact, in case you are detained and your devices are taken.

✅Comply with dispersal orders or other directives issued by law enforcement. If engaged in an encounter with law enforcement, explain that you are a journalist covering the event and show your credentials. You may continue to record interactions with law enforcement.

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I include these just to express some indignation on behalf of Lauren Tomesia, an Australian woman covering the news on these strange Americans for a television program, 9News. The Trump administration seems literally to be targeting reporters. Thanks to the miracle of YouTube, you can watch the tape at any time, and as often as you please, and you can if willing acquire a degree of certainty that this was NOT an accident.

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