United States: The Coalition For Women In Journalism Cheers For Eddy Binford-Ross, 17 Year Old Journalist From South Salem High School Who Covers Protests Like A Pro!
Location: United States, Salem/ Oregon
Date: July 24, 2020
The Coalition For Women In Journalism has been following Eddy Binford-Ross’s coverage of protests in Portland with enthusiasm and hope for the future of women in journalism.
Eddy, according to her autobiography on Clypian, publication by South Salem High School students is a “junior high school student and the Clypian’s Editor-in-Chief. She gave a TEDx talk on the importance of civics education and is the Executive Policy Director for Oregon’s chapter of U.S. Youth Climate Strike. When she’s not spending time with her horse, she likes traveling the world, backpacking, following politics and reading.”
Eddy has been covering the Black Lives Matter protests both in Salem and in the state capitol Portland from day one, and has spent many sleepless nights covering the protests live with her notepad, a digital camera and her Clypian press badge.
That’s where she faced her first projectile attack as many of her more seasoned colleagues around the world faced.
Here’s my article about the Portland protests on Sunday! I had a projectile gun pointed right at me by a member of @PortlandPolice while I was covering this story, so you should definitely check it out! #portlandprotests #portland #portlandoregon #oregon #studentjournalist https://t.co/pOUbGuqNGs
— Eddy Binford-Ross (@eddybinfordross) June 18, 2020
Being a “rule follower” as she told the Oregon Live, she never expected that she would one day be confronted with tear gas. However her passion in journalism didn’t stop her from reporting on the ground and being a pioneer among her peers.
Eddy live tweets demonstrations from the Clypian’s account as they happen. The next day, she publishes a story on the website, accompanied by photos she takes with her own Canon camera.
She’s covered nearly every protest in Salem since late May. Before then, The Clypian’s audience was primarily students, faculty and staff at South Salem High. The newspaper ceased printing when schools shuttered in mid-March. (source: https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2020/06/south-salem-highs-eddy-binford-ross-covers-protests-like-a-pro-2020-senior-portraits.html)
The Coalition For Women In Journalism recorded that while covering the protests in the United States, 32 women journalists were subjected to attack, harassment and detention or arrest. Eddy is the 33th that we have recorded and the youngest of passionate women journalists in the country capturing the historic moment.
CFWIJ team is inspired by the diligence Eddy Binford-Ross shows both in the civil rights movement and journalism and cheers for her in her future endeavours.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.