CBS News has returned “several boxes” containing news materials to award-winning journalist Katherine Herridge after SAG-AFTRA intervened amid concerns about freedom of the press and protection of confidential sources.
The materials were delivered to Herridge at her CBS news bureau in Washington, D.C., with a union representative present to monitor the process. The contents of these boxes, which include files relating to confidential sources, are currently under review by Herridge.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following statement.
SAG-AFTRA is pleased to confirm that earlier today, our union representative monitored the return of several boxes containing Kathryn Herridge's reporting materials from her CBS News bureau in Washington, D.C., and Herridge is currently reviewing the materials.
We welcome CBS News' reversal, which follows SAG-AFTRA's intervention and extensive media coverage that highlighted shared concerns about freedom of the press and the First Amendment.
Resolving this issue sends a strong message to protect basic First Amendment principles. We also hope that public focus will now shift to SAG-AFTRA's continued efforts to support the Press Shield Act, which provides additional federal protections for journalists and their confidential sources.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Catherine Herridge was among 800 employees laid off by Paramount Global in an effort to streamline operations amid financial pressures. Her expulsion has since escalated into a wider controversy.
Herridge's colleagues are reportedly concerned about the company's unprecedented steps to seize her work materials, including sensitive information about sources promised confidentiality.
“There is trouble at BlackRock, the CBS headquarters, after the firing of Katherine Herridge, a popular investigative reporter. Many of us were shocked that Herridge was included among the layoffs this month, but those concerns increased after CBS officials took action. S took the extraordinary step of confiscating her files, computers and records, including information related to privileged sources.
The seizure of the files of Herridge, who covered her impressive career at both CBS and previously at Fox News, sent a “chilling signal” through the ranks, signaling a potential crackdown on press freedom and source protection.
SAG-AFTRA issued the following statement last week:
SAG-AFTRA strongly condemns CBS News' decision to seize reporter Kathryn Herridge's notes and research from its desk, including confidential source information. This action is of deep concern to the union because it sets a dangerous precedent for all media workers and threatens the basis of the First Amendment.
It is highly inappropriate for an employer to lay off a reporter and take the highly unusual step of retaining and inspecting the reporter's files, including identifying source and confidential information. From a First Amendment standpoint, for any media company committed to journalism to describe a reporter's research and confidential source reports as “private information” is both shocking and absurd.
The retention of media personnel's reporting materials by their former employer represents a serious departure from traditional practices that support the prompt return of reporting materials. We urge CBS to return these materials to Katherine in support of the most basic principles of the First Amendment. We are encouraged by CBS News' recent communications with SAG-AFTRA regarding this matter, and hope it will be resolved soon.
