Journalists In Crosshairs
Press freedom is an issue close to my heart.
Here in America, Journalists have never had to worry so much for their physical safety. That’s one reason why political cartoonist, Cameron Cardow, pissed me off so much when he started working as “Rivers,” an anonymous cartoonist pretending his life was in danger for supporting Donald Trump with lies and conspiracy theories while being a Canadian pretending to be an American.
If anything, Cam working anonymously, with the aid of syndicate boss Daryl Cagle, was threatening journalism by telling editors that it wouldn’t violate their ethics policies because political cartoonists are not journalists. Rivers has since quit, but Cagle is still doing his best to undermine political cartoonists as journalists.
Just in case they’re reading this, Daryl, you’re a huge disappointment who fails to exercise responsibility or even quality control when distributing misinformation powered by racism. Next time we meet, we’re gonna have a talk.
Cam, you’re just a lying piece of shit, but I’m thankful for your career change and hope you’re doing well, at least well enough not to come back to cartooning.
There are other places outside the United States where being a journalist can be very dangerous. Mexico can be a very bad place for journalists, not so much from the government but from drug cartels. Murderers of journalists in Haiti are likely to go unpunished. Pakistan is considered extremely dangerous for a reporter. The wars in Myanmar and Sudan are also killing journalists.
No deaths of journalists from White Genocide in South Africa have been reported, maybe because there’s no White Genocide in South Africa.
Since 2014, at least 17 journalists have been killed in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, at least 184 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza.
12 people were killed in Paris, which is not a war zone, in 2015 at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, by terrorists angered by cartoons of Muhammad in 2012. Five of the 12 killed were cartoonists.
Here in the United States, despite Rivers’ cowardice, a political cartoonist has never been assassinated. The biggest threat to our press freedom here comes from the owners of news outlets, as they all bow in fear before Tiny TACO. But that might be changing.
Over the past few days, cops in Los Angeles haven’t just shot at journalists, but have targeted them. Sometimes shit happens, but it seems the cops in LA are the ones making shit happen.
British photojournalist Nick Stern was in the city of Paramount in the LA area, and while in a calm area at the time, Stern was hit in the leg with a projectile. He needed surgery to have it removed. He was shot by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The Department is supposedly investigating the incident while saying, “Why golly-gee wilikens, we can’t tell if it was one of our guys.”
Toby Canham, a freelance photographer on assignment for The New York Post, was hit in the head by a supposed non-lethal bullet while taking photos of the California Highway Patrol. Footage shows a cop aiming at him.
Lauren Tomasi of 9News Australia, a CNN affiliate, was conducting a live broadcast from the scene of a protest on Sunday afternoon when she was shot by the LAPD. Footage from her coverage shows a cop turning to aim at her.
Other journalists have been shot with non-lethal bullets and gas canisters by agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The LAPD and the LA County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the shootings, but the departments need to fire those bad cops instead of stonewalling.
A collection of press freedom groups wrote a letter on Monday to Kristi Noem, the head of Homeland Security, saying that, in some instances, it appeared federal officers had “deliberately targeted journalists.” The groups urged the department to refrain from unlawful force against reporters, “who are merely covering events of public concern in the Los Angeles area.”
Neither DHS nor Noem has responded to the accusations and incidents.
The National Press Club, a professional organization for journalists, said reporters had been singled out and also called on the LAPD’s police chief to make sure journalists could “safely observe and report” on the protests.
“Police cannot pick and choose when the First Amendment applies,” the group’s president, Mike Balsamo, said in a statement. “Journalists in Los Angeles were not caught in the crossfire — they were targeted.”
These reporters were not injured by rioters or protesters. They were injured by cops, the ones who are supposed to be protecting the community. It won’t get safer for journalists after the National Guard and Marines become more involved.
What's more, I believe some of these cops are influenced by the man who once said the press is the “enemy of the American people.
This journalist will be on the streets Saturday during Trump’s militarized birthday Party. It seems the First Amendment is being discarded by the TACO regime.
Update: This cartoon has been published in The Victorian News, an online newspaper in Melbourne, Australia.
Creative note: As you see, I didn’t go for funny today.
Music note: I was going to listen to the Beach Boys, really, when my music app was already on Pearl Jam…and I got into Pearl Jam.
Drawn in 30 seconds:
Timelapse:
Support your local cartoonist: If you want to support the cartoonist, please donate through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com, Venmo to clay-jones-87, or snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. All support is appreciated.
Signed prints: Each signed print costs $40.00. Every cartoon at Claytoonz is available. Payment is accepted through PayPal, Venmo (clay-jones-87), or snail mail to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. Add to the note what you’re purchasing.
Tales From The Trumpster Fire: Signed copies of my second book are $50 and available only through me. I currently have four copies in my personal stash. Add to the note what you’re purchasing.
Knee-Deep In Mississippi: There are only seven copies left of my first book, published in 1997. They can be purchased for $40.00. Let me know which cartoon you are buying in the note.
So angry about this shit. Be careful in D.C., Clay, but more power to you.
Definitely no humor to be found in this situation. That was my thought as I was reading, long before I reached your creative note. We are becoming the type of nation we used to seek to liberate.