The NATO protests have turned out to be not only dangerous for the protesters and the police, but also for the journalists covering the action. In response, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press created a 24/7 hotline for journalists to call if they needed legal assistance.

The Mandell Menkes law firm was responsible for answering the calls from the hotline. Steve Mandell, a founding partner with the firm, said only a few journalists required their assistance over the weekend. A few of them were caught between protesters and baton-wielding police and suffered subsequent injuries, and another photojournalist was arrested Sunday night and released early Monday morning.

Lucy Dalglish, the executive director of RCFP, said they would help all journalists, not just those of the traditional media. She made it clear, however, that they were not there to help protesters.

“We are open to helping people who are gathering news independently and publishing it,” said Dalglish.

In today’s world of Internet news and independent news bloggers, it can be difficult to draw the line between journalist and casual protester.

“It’s not always easy to define what constitutes a journalist,” Mandell said. “Just because you’re not a member of the traditional press doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to report on the event.”

The non-traditional journalists at the front lines of the protests were most at risk of being arrested because they easily blended in with the other protesters. Mandell said the best thing they could do was to wear something that identified them as press, if they couldn’t obtain press credentials. This could be a t-shirt or a hat, something that’s easily noticed.
Mandell also advised journalists to avoid scuffles with the police, even though many of them were pushed around with protesters and police alike.

“They need to obey police orders, be cooperative and respectful,” Mandell said. “It’s important to distinguish themselves … when the crowd is large and emotions are high.”

While these precautions helped journalists avoid arrest, not all of them escaped detainment. The law firm had a criminal defense attorney on call to advise journalists on the best way to get out of jail if it came to that. The firm encouraged journalists to have the hotline number accessible at all times, so they would have someone to call. The sooner they get out of jail, the sooner they can get back out there to report on the action, Mandell said.

Fortunately, the law firm’s services were not needed much over the weekend. For the most part, the protests were peaceful, and few arrests were made. Mandell believes the meetings the firm had with the police prior to the summit helped ease the tension and avoid conflict.

“I think this is a really important event for Chicago,” Mandel said, “but so far, so good with police being cooperative.”
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