Nashville Scene
Tennessean | Nashville Scene | News Channel 5
Nashville Scene reporter Jonathan Meador, 26, was one of two dozen or so people arrested over the weekend by Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers at Occupy Nashville. “It’s extraordinary that after identifying himself multiple times as a member of the media and as he attempted to get out of the state troopers’ way, he was still arrested,” Nashville City Paper editor Steve Cavendish tells me in an email. (The Scene and City Paper have the same owner.) “At multiple points while he was in custody, he identified himself as media and was ignored, despite having a laptop, a camera and other equipment to cover the scene.” Ferrell, CEO of Scene parent company SouthComm, Inc., says in a statement:
I expect the Governor to publicly apologize to him for this violation of his rights and to assure the people of Tennessee that this administration will not interfere with the right to a free press that has been a fundamental right in this country since our founding. I’m sure you understand that every media outlet in this country will vigorously defend our right to cover government action without fear of arrest or reprisal.
[This post was updated to correct Steve Cavendish’s alt-weekly affiliation.]
Comments