Your First Amendment Right: Protest and the Media

Authors: Vanessa Chamorro, Carissa Cunningham

SUNY Campus: Purchase College

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: UU 108

Presentation #: 89

Timeslot: Session D 3:00-4:00 PM

Abstract: The First Amendment tells Americans we have the right to our freedom of religion, expression, assembly and the right to petition. When the right to expression, assembly and petition is expressed through protest, any good journalist is quick to the scene to cover the event. But when certain views are being expressed when practicing this right, like international politics or civil rights, media companies seem to portray them one way or another. My project will explore and compare differences between media coverage of the Kent State massacre, the Jackson State killings and the Pro-Palestine encampment at SUNY Purchase on May 2nd. This project will also compare and contrast how different news media companies cover protests by the protest’s topic and protestor’s actions. This project will feature interviews with journalists from SUNY Purchase regarding the events of May 2nd 2024 when a pro-Palestinian encampment was broken up with violent police response. With over 70 people arrested including professors, this aspect of the project will discuss the events from their perspectives and point of view as journalists and people who directly participate in news media. This project will also include interviews with students from SUNY Purchase who were present at the encampment on May 2nd, and will show their perspectives as active participants and how they feel the limited news media that was created covered the event they lived through. This project was created because of the issue of bias in news media against different types of protests and aims to explore the how and why of this issue.