Course Details

Recent events have brought a tremendous amount of attention to the relationship between law enforcement and the press at events of public interest. Law enforcement seeks to protect and serve, while journalists seek to inform and document. Since officers are faced with rapidly evolving situations involving multiple groups, all with different reasons for being present, the officer could potentially be negatively portrayed on the news, or charged with a violation of a journalist's Constitutional rights. 

By understanding each other's role during events of public interest, both the law enforcement community and the news media can develop a mutually respectful relationship, and more effectively fulfill their respective professional missions. To this end, the Georgia Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, and the Georgia Public Safety Training Center collaborated to create this online course to help foster positive police-press relations during events of public interest.

Topics include a review of the First and Fourth Amendments and the Privacy Protection Act, the role of the journalist in American society, and tactics and techniques to ensure positive police-press relations.