Statement of SPJ Northern California Chapter on the Sept. 22 expulsion of journalists from NAB convention in San Francisco

Sept. 27, 2000


CONTACT:
Randy Lyman
Co-chair, Freedom of Information Committee
Society of Professional Journalists, No. Calif. chapter


Statement of SPJ Northern California Chapter on the Sept. 22 expulsion of
journalists from NAB convention in San Francisco


The Society of Professional Journalists is shocked and embarrassed by the expulsion of several reporters from the National Association of
Broadcasters
convention in San Francisco last week. As an organization that depends on the First Amendment for its own survival, the NAB has set a very bad
example for other individuals and organizations to follow. What happens now if a
presidential candidate or a political party decides to expel working
journalists in response to coverage that is perceived as unfavorable? They
can point to the NAB, which apparently retaliated against the reporters --
who published articles critical of the association -- by stripping them of
their credentials and having the police remove them from the convention hall.

There appears to have been some confusion and irregularities concerning the issuance and use of press credentials, but that fact alone would not seem
to justify the NAB's heavy-handed response. What's appalling is that an organization that lives and dies by the First Amendment showed a surprising
lack of respect for the principles of free speech and expression. The NAB's
hypocrisy in refusing to tolerate dissent sets a very bad example, and we call on the organization to apologize for its misbehavior -- and not trot
out some laughable excuse about the lack of proper stickers on cameras.
If a
network news photographer had been expelled from a convention on similar grounds, the NAB would be screaming and demanding a federal investigation.

Tim Graham
Society of Professional Journalists
President, Northern California Chapter