The amendment may actually restrict existing press freedoms rather than expand them, turning this bill on its head and into something that hurts the very people it was written to help, according to the coalition of press associations, labor unions and journalism advocacy groups.
The amendment was a clear attempt to hobble this bill, the coalition s open letter to the state legislature read. Journalists should not need permission from a police commander to cover protests, just as law enforcement-issued press credentials should not be required in order for journalists to exercise their First Amendment rights in a public forum.
The coalition said it was aware that law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff s Department, had been lobbying against SB 98 in recent months.
CBC Calgary and CBC Edmonton took home six national Radio Television Digital News Association of Canada awards for work on stories and videos ranging from the devastation left by the deaths of several men by suicide in Medicine Hat, to the quest for accountability after a child died in care, and more.