A expulsão do OccupyWallStreet do Zuccotti Park e o #mediablackout

, por Alexandre Matias

Hashtag chamando atenção no Twitter: #mediablackout. Se refere à forma como os jornalistas foram tratados pela polícia de Nova York no momento da expulsão dos manifestantes do OccupyWallStreet na madrugada desta terça. Diz o Gothamist:

During our coverage of the eviction of the Occupy Wall Street protesters early this morning, a NPR reporter, a New York Times reporter, and a city councilmember were arrested. Airspace in Lower Manhattan was closed to CBS and NBC news choppers by the NYPD, a New York Post reporter was allegedly put in a “choke hold” by the police, a NBC reporter’s press pass was confiscated and a large group of reporters and protesters were hit with pepper spray. According to the eviction notice, the park was merely “cleaned and restored for its intended use.” If this is the case, why were so few people permitted to view it?

“Get the fuck back! Fuck back I said!” The NYPD officer’s voice was amplified behind the plexiglass helmet as he violently shoved protesters and reporters away from the intersection of Cortland and Broadway, one block from Zuccotti Park. It was 1:20 a.m., shortly after the police cordoned off the park to prepare for the cleaning. Requests to gain entry or move south down Broadway to see what was happening were met with the reply, “We have to clear the sidewalk.” One protester asked, “Isn’t the sidewalk public space?” The riot shields kept moving forward. “Clear the sidewalk. Move! Now!”

O New York Times também registrou esse impedimento, além da opinião do prefeito de Nova York sobre o assunto:

As a result, much of the early video of the police operation was from the vantage point of the protesters. Videos that were live-streamed on the Web and uploaded to YouTube were picked up by television networks and broadcast on Tuesday morning.

At a news conference after the park was cleared Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg defended the police behavior, saying that the media was kept away “to prevent a situation from getting worse and to protect members of the press.”

Aham. Claro, claro… A situação vai ficando só mais evidente, com menos meias palavras…

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