A college newspaper reporter’s arrest for photographing a police officer has demonstrated the friction between obstruction of justice and obstruction of the press. According to Tom Gascoyne in Chico News and Review, Misha Osinovskiy, a photographer for the Chico State newspaper Orion, had his equipment confiscated and was taken to jail after the undercover Beverage Control police officer whom he was photographing warned him to stop. The officer explained that taking his photo while he was in his undercover role put him in danger and could “get him killed.” Osinovskiy defended his rights as a reporter by citing Penal Code 409.5, which states that an authorized representative of a news service has the right to enter areas closed to the public. While both accounts may have justified points, the case could have a negative impact on the paper’s news reporting. Jen Cooper, editor at Orion, says “The last thing we want is for reporters to not be aggressive. We don’t want them to break the law, but we don’t want them pulling back.”
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