NPR firing over Occupy Wall Street

Caitlin Curran, a freelancer for "The Takeaway" which is co-produced by NPR-member station WNYC and Public Radio International, was fired from her radio show after her boss discovered pictures of her participating in the Occupy protests.

The station claims that since they are covering the Occupy Wall Street protests, having employers participating in the protests violates their editorial standards and every ethic of journalism.

Curran's boss saw a picture of her holding a sign that paraphrased text from "The Atlantic's" Conor Friedersdorf.

This story is similar to the firing of Lisa Simeone from NPR after it was revealed that she was working as a spokesperson for Occupy D.C.

Curran's and Simeone's stories shows how far the people of NPR will go to prove they are not a liberally biased program.

It goes against individual rights to fire people just because of their participation, on their personal time, in a non-partisan movement.

Americans have the constitutional right to protest freely without fear of punishment.

Journalists' jobs are to report the news in an unbiased manner, but what they do in their free time is their decision.

Journalists should not have to alter their lifestyles for their jobs.

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"Show don't Tell"

Getting the perfect photo to complement any story is vital, but photographers need to know their constitutional rights.

When in a public place, photographers have the right to photograph anything in plain view. When on private property, the property owner sets the rules.

Police officers cannot confiscate or demand to view photographs without a warrant. They can also not delete photographs under any circumstance.

If a photographer is stopped by a police officer, always act polite and calm. The photographer needs to ask the officer for the reasons behind being detained.

Photos, just like written stories, give new knowledge to their audiences. They also provide a check on the government.

The First Amendment guarantees photographers the rights to shoot whatever they find useful, as long as they don't break any other laws, such as trespassing, while doing so.

Photographs can do something articles can't. Photos physically show the situation, and evoke strong emotions. The rights of these people need to be protected because they are doing their community a great service.

Photo Credit: Maddie Boswell

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