Why journalists should be able to join the Women’s March

[Commentary] This week, countless American Journalists have been weighing the costs of joining the Women’s March in Washington (DC) or one of the many sister demonstrations being held on January 21. Staffers coast to coast, from The San Francisco Chronicle to The New York Times, have received specific edicts against attending.

Others likely know the tried-and-true rule, handed down from standard-setting organizations like The Associated Press: Journalists are not allowed to join protests or demonstrations, in order to avoid appearance of bias. According to the AP’s guidelines, staffers “must refrain from declaring their views on contentious public issues in any public forum…and must not take part in demonstrations in support of causes or movements.” The longstanding and rarely questioned rule was designed to protect the credibility of reporters and their news organizations, and to many, it looks like common sense. But it has arguably become just another barrier to entry in an industry already struggling with a pronounced lack of diversity.

[Shaya Tayefe Mohajer is a (recently laid-off) journalist in Los Angeles. ]