Source: wallpaperflare.com
Yeshiel Panchia was supposed to cover a story about a local developer who found ways on how to keep his laborers employed despite the current COVID-19 crisis. The developer would allow his laborers to stay on the construction site so that they wouldn’t have to leave the area and can abide by the pandemic rules set by the government sectors. As the journalist Yeshiel was leaving, the police caught up with him and threatened to arrest him, telling him that the media is not essential service at all and was annoyed that he was going out and about amidst the lockdowns. Good thing, the senior officer called her attention and told her that Yeshiel had the documents to do his job. Shame on them.
Yeshiel was fortunate that he brought with him his press identification car and a letter from his editor, along with the necessary papers that he was required to bring with him to South Africa that supported his travel there.
In most parts of the world, journalists are listed as essential, enabling them to travel and move to places to do their jobs during the pandemic. However, freelance journalists don’t have that same freedom, especially when they do not have complete credentials and working specs. Without these, they are unable to prove that they are indeed journalists. Also, a lot of them do not have PPEs that are necessary to do COVID reports safely. Additionally, a rapid decline in advertising due to the economic shutdown has resulted in offices terminating journalists’ assignments, which further jeopardized their incomes.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
A freelance journalist who does most of her assignments in Italy is now unable to leave her house despite the fact that journalists in the country are considered essential workers. Like her, other freelancers across the world are confronted with the same challenges because they could not show police and local enforcers the required documents to prove that they are indeed journalists. Thus, they are unable to work, and this tremendously impacts their livelihoods as well as the public interest as well.
On the other hand, India implemented a countrywide lockdown, causing over 1 billion residents to be devoid of credible and updated information about the current pandemic, as the country heavily depends on freelance journalists’ reports in the big cities. A lot of information from the more isolated areas of India is delivered mostly by freelancers, and that network is now completely malfunctioning. And although some of them try to report remotely, most freelancers agree that it is more difficult for poor communities. Ultimately, videographers and photographers must also be there in person, not virtually.
Outlet Cancellations
One of the most crucial occurrences happening to journalism companies right now is the termination of their assignments. There are at least 600 applications from freelancers for financial support in the past weeks, and those applications mostly mentioned cancellation of their assignments as the reason. Consequently, a lot of news outlets are initiating to report from homes to cut on costs in their efforts to minimize their losses from the COVID-19 financial decline. Freelancing is somehow an easy and exciting career. Changes: Still, as the news and entertainment industry has plummeted and continues to plummet, they have also begun to reduce the number of employees, making freelance citizen journalism ethics an even more important part of the journalism profession.
Source: littlerock.af.mil
Everyone is worried and anxious about how COVID-19 will impact the small and medium news facilities and even the larger newsrooms, as well as impact the anxiety of freelance journalists. They say the pandemic will most probably kill the news from the local sector. However, it is a fact that the industry has survived in journalism, both local and international, because of freelancers. Freelancers report stories that the staff is often unwilling to report on because of fear of getting infected, and the freelancers are doing this, knowing that they are risking everything without any insurance or if they’re even sure that they’re going to be paid for the assignment.
If they continue to hold off these freelancers and give them a hard time, then with their jobs that are already dwindling and opportunities often missed, the important news about the pandemic and life will simply go unreported.