Black Reporter Sues Newspaper Over Banning Her From Covering BLM Protests

A black Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter has filed a civil lawsuit alleging racial discrimination on the part of the newspaper after it wrongfully barred her from covering the George Floyd protests.

Plaintiff Alexis D. Johnson, who has worked for the news outlet since 2018 and has covered social issues in the past, claims the Post-Gazette refused to allow her to cover a local Black Lives Matter protest due to a posted tweet on her private account.

The newspaper allegedly informed Johnson that she could not be trusted to report on the protests impartially.

Johnson’s May 31 tweet that prompted the reported racial discrimination showed images of debris-strewn streets and parking lots.

“Horrifying scenes and aftermath from selfish LOOTERS who don’t care about this city!!!!!” the tweet reads. “…oh wait sorry. No, these are pictures from a Kenny Chesney concert tailgate. Whoops.”

Johnson says her tweet was intended to “mock and ridicule, and thus to protest, the racial bias and discrimination in a society that condemns African Americans who oppose racial injustice by protests that result in some property damage, while tolerates similar property damage by predominately white crowds who attend Chesney concerts.”

However, the Post-Gazette interpreted the tweet differently.

The day after the tweet went out, three Post-Gazette editors told Johnson her tweet “showed she could not cover the protests fairly,” and said she would not be assigned to report on them. 

Johnson says her managing editor told her that because she had spoken out about racism and the murder of black people by police, she would no longer be able to cover any story involving protests or demonstrations concerning those topics. The editors then reportedly told Johnson that commenting on a matter in the news would “preclude a reporter or journalist from thereafter covering that story.”

The death of George Floyd—a black man killed by Minneapolis police in late May—has sparked outrage around the world, with major protests being held in several major cities.

In Pittsburgh, peaceful demonstrations against police brutality were held the weekend of May 30 and 31, according to Johnson’s lawsuit. During those protests, “some property damage and unrest occurred,” the lawsuit says, and several people were arrested.

The property damage became the focus of criticism from public officials who didn’t support the calls for racial justice or the tactics used by the protesters, the complaint says.

After Johnson’s conversation with the editors, Post-Gazette photographer Michael Santiago, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist who had tweeted in support of Johnson’s Twitter protest, was disallowed from taking photos of racial demonstrations. Santiago has since left the Post-Gazette.

After hearing about the paper’s decision to stop Johnson from covering the protests, her fellow reporters, her union, and even the Pittsburgh mayor rallied around her, with about 80 of them sending identical tweets in support of her position.

Michael A. Fuoco, president of Johnson’s guild and also a Post-Gazette reporter, told Time magazine that guild leaders were “appalled” by the newspaper’s move.

According to the lawsuit, the Post-Gazette’s executive editor and the vice president of the newspaper’s parent company, Block Communications, published a report saying the Post-Gazette likewise precluded the 80 other journalists from covering racial discrimination or the murder of black people by white police because they joined in Johnson’s twitter protest.

Johnson further claims the newspaper has not treated all its journalists equally.

In her lawsuit, Johnson says the Post-Gazette has not stopped reporters and journalists who have commented on bias toward whites in a similar manner from covering related topics.

Johnson cites the example of some reporters who spoke out against discrimination and hate after the 2018 shootings at the Tree of Life synagogue. Those who commented publicly were not removed from that story. 

In another example Johnson offers, Joshua Axelrod, a white Post-Gazette employee, tweeted about a man accused by police of vandalism and looting during the George Floyd protests, referring to the accused as a “scum bag.” However, Johnson says, the newspaper did not initially prevent Axelrod from covering the protests.

As a result of the Post-Gazette’s alleged “discriminatory and retaliatory treatment,” Johnson says she has suffered great mental anguish and emotional strain, humiliation, inconvenience, and diminished career advancement because she was unable to cover one of the major stories of her time.

Johnson is demanding a jury trial and asks the Court to “permanently enjoin” the Post-Gazette from retaliating against her because she opposes racial discrimination. She is also asking the Court to order the newspaper to stop precluding her from covering protests and demonstrations dealing with racial discrimination.

In terms of damages, Johnson is asking for compensation for the “diminishment of her career advancement she would have obtained had it not been for Defendant’s illegal treatment;” compensatory and punitive damages to be determined at trial; court costs and attorneys’ fees; and any other relief deemed just by the Court. 

Do you think news outlets have a right to bar journalists from covering a topic if they speak their opinion publicly? Let us know in the comments.

Johnson is represented by Samuel J. Cordes of Rothman Gordon PC.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Racial Discrimination Civil Lawsuit is Alexis D. Johnson v. P G Publishing Company d/b/a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Case No. 2:20-cv-00885-NR, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. 

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