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FEDERAL AGENCY TRIES TO CENSOR POST-KATRINA COVERAGE

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, U.S. authorities have attempted to prevent several journalists from covering rescue efforts, say Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has been criticised for its initial slow response to the disaster, raised alarm bells last week when it asked news organisations not to photograph bodies being recovered in Louisiana and Mississippi.

CPJ and RSF also raised concern about police violence against journalists covering clashes between police and looters. They recorded at least four incidents in which reporters and photographers were roughed up or intimidated, including "Toronto Star" photographer Lucas Oleniuk, whose digital camera and memory cards were removed. Oleniuk had filmed officers beating two suspects. In another incident, NBC anchor Brian Williams and his crew were ordered to stop trying to film a National Guard unit securing a store in downtown New Orleans on 7 September.

Visit:
- CPJ:
http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/USA09sept05na.html
- RSF:
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=14894
- Photojournalists Obstructed: http://tinyurl.com/dxkaf
- Democracy Now: http://tinyurl.com/cz7cl
- Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/753pu