For the second time in the 20 years he’s had a beard, San Diego Union-Tribune photographer Howard Lipin shaved. Like the first time, it was because of his job. It wasn’t required, but Lipin knew if protests turned violent at Bio2001, the biotechnology conference, his beard would get in his way. It would prevent an airtight seal of the mask he would wear to protect him from tear gas or other fumes.
The first time he shaved his beard was for the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles last August. He was among four Union-Tribune photographers who decided, on their own, to be prepared. Lipin said the training he got then was provided by a friend in law enforcement.
Because of what happened in Seattle during the 1999 World Trade Organization conference and at other international meetings, San Diego law enforcement spent about $4.85 million for the conference that ended Wednesday. Training received by Union-Tribune journalists pales in comparison.
Police expected between 4,000 and 8,000 protesters; the numbers didn’t materialize. Demonstrators promised they would be peaceful, and they were. The Union-Tribune was careful to air both sides of the debate. Like many other San Diegans, I’m relieved the city wasn’t torn apart by strife and that demonstrations were peaceful.
Now that Lipin doesn’t have to worry about his beard getting in the way of a mask, he is growing it back, much to his wife’s relief. She likes it.
Lipin was among 27 Union-Tribune reporters and photographers trained on how to use the masks, or respirators. Journalists received instruction from David Ferguson, Union-Tribune manager of safety and workers compensation, and Aleks Meyer, company safety engineer.
Part of the training included a session in the Union-Tribune garage. To make sure the journalists knew how to wear the masks properly, Ferguson and Meyer waved vials of banana oil at masked journalists. If they got a whiff of the banana oil, the mask was on improperly, and adjustments had to be made.
Although the journalists joked about the training, it was serious business. Some of those who wore glasses had to have special lenses ground to wear with the masks.
The masks supplied to reporters and photographers were included in a bag journalists carried when they covered demonstrations. Each bag, in addition to the mask, included a hard hat, water, gauze, eye wash and an energy bar. No one had to use any of the precautionary items.
No, I don’t know if anyone returned the bag without the energy bar.
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He called it “manufactured news,” and that got my attention. In an e-mail, Don Knepper of Carlsbad complained about a story that appeared June 22 in connection with Bio2001.
The story, with a headline that varied from edition to edition, was about efforts by Greenpeace to place signs in stores warning about genetically engineered food. The story made it plain that Greenpeace invited media attention.
By showing up at what Greenpeace called a “direct action,” reporters were creating the news, Knepper said. That made journalists “party to a crime,” he said.
He noted that the Union-Tribune reporter and photographer did not enter the store. Even so, by covering the event, the media was highly unprofessional, he said.
To me, the story made it obvious the newspaper knew that the media were being manipulated and wanted readers to know it as well.
“Greenpeace activists are known for engaging in actions that often generate news,” said Ellen Bevier, one of two Union-Tribune metro editors. “Having been contacted by that group, we resolved to monitor what they were doing.
“We chose not to be part of whatever they had in mind, but to observe from a distance and follow up with those affected,” Bevier said.
“We cast the story in a way that made it clear it was a staged event, reporting not just the protesters’ actions but their manner.
“We cover many events in which the participants are trying to manipulate the news media. Even the most routine press conference falls into that category. One of our jobs is to make the context of such events clear so readers can assess for themselves the worth of the information being made public,” Bevier said.
Protests are one of those things that newspapers feel bound to cover, just in case there’s trouble. What if there had been a confrontation over the event and every other media in town had been there except for the Union-Tribune?
The paper had two acceptable choices with this story. It could have run nothing at all; it could have told people about the tactics of the protesters. Editors opted for the latter.
