Journalists are not the story in Uvalde. They are there to tell the story of Uvalde, following a tragedy that will always remain beyond comprehension.
Their pictures and words bring context, insight and understanding to the immeasurable depths of sorrow, despair and outrage following the murders of 19 children and two teachers May 24 at Robb Elementary School.
Journalists are in Uvalde because so many in the public cannot be there. Their questions are the public’s questions. Their pursuit is to learn the truth about what happened, sharing facts with the public about this tragedy and, in turn, cultivating a shared understanding.
This means intimate portraits of the victims and their grieving loved ones, questioning law enforcement officials about their response to the shooting, questioning state officials about their statements in the aftermath of tragedy, analyzing the killer’s intent and background, questioning officials about past and future policies.
It’s disturbing that law enforcement and motorcycle clubs have hassled, intimidated and obstructed journalists, including those with the San Antonio Express-News, as they cover this tragedy, moving the press from public streets and sidewalks, blocking cameras and creating barricades.
“The news reporters are about getting to the truth, and that’s why they’re being obstructed and treated poorly, because there are some folks, apparently, who don’t want the truth to come out,” Kelley Shannon, executive director for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, told us. “The press is symbolic for the truth, really, in this situation. And if they’re being harassed, and they’re being blocked, and they’re being mistreated, well, that’s because there is some blockage of the truth going on, and it’s just a misplaced agitation that’s being aimed at journalists.”
Let’s be clear: Journalists have been respectful of private citizens and this grieving community. They have covered the tragedy with sensitivity and humanity.
They have also asked pointed questions of public officials, as the narrative of the police response has shifted with time. It’s vitally important for the nation to have accurate information about this tragedy as federal and state officials debate responses.
Would that happen without the presence of journalists? Of course not. Just look at how the narrative of the police response shifted under questioning.
The public is best served with the communication of clear and accurate information from a reliable official source, and that has not happened in Uvalde. Instead, the public has incrementally learned that officers, under the direction of Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, did not enter adjoining classrooms for more than an hour, even as the killer fired sporadic shots and children were calling for help. We also have learned a teacher did not leave a door propped open, contrary to initial statements.
As funerals of the victims continue, law enforcement officials from across the state have descended on Uvalde, under the command of Dilley Police Chief Homer Delgado.
When officers (funded by tax dollars) order reporters off sidewalks or obstruct photographers from taking pictures in public settings, they may be speaking to specific journalists, but they are really removing the public.
News gathering is a constitutionally protected activity, and such threats have the potential to chill reporting. If journalists are threatened with an arrest for standing on a public street, for example, they are less likely to report and that is information that won’t reach the public.
In Uvalde there is also the obvious tension of police shutting out journalists, who have raised pointed questions about the flawed police response to the tragedy, a response that officials initially praised.
How reporters are treated is important, and public officials and agencies always benefit from transparency, even if it reveals missteps. But what’s most important is getting to the truth about May 24 in Uvalde. That’s why journalists are there. To antagonize the press distracts from this higher purpose, and it ultimately clouds public understanding.
San Antonio Express-News
