A black reporter from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was told she could not cover the city’s protests over the death of George Floyd because of a tweet, and now dozens of her colleagues, fellow journalists, her union and even the city’s mayor are speaking out in support of her.
On Friday the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh and many of her fellow reporters at the Post-Gazette were demanding that Alexis Johnson be allowed cover the protests, sending identical versions of the tweet themselves and using the hashtag #IStandWithAlexis.
Guild President Michael A. Fuoco, who is also a Post-Gazette reporter, told the AP that guild leaders were “appalled” by the move, and the paper’s editors have not yielded at all in discussions about Johnson’s status.
Journalists from other outlets around the country and other unions were also speaking out in favor of Johnson, as did Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, who said on Twitter that her reporting has always been fair and professional.
Johnson’s removal from protest coverage was first reported by Pittsburgh City Paper.
