Notes on the NYPD Press Credentialing Process, from the (Ineligible) Editor-in-Chief of the New York Observer
In a note responding to an earlier post from TheAwl detailing the various media organization associations of 26 reporters arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protests, Bloomberg spokesperson Stu Loeser tried to dismiss any accusations that the arrests were improper by noting that only five of the reporters arrested had valid NYPD press credentials. He then went on to Tweet at Observer News Editor Megan McCarthy:
Aside from the question of whether credentialing by law enforcement is appropriate in the first place (inasmuch as it can potentially conflict with first amendment protections), the NYPD’s processes for acquiring credentials are, to put it nicely, Kafkaesque. To put it bluntly: they’re ridiculous. Read More
