Is Don Lemon a journalist?
On the future of media
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On Thursday, a judge in Minnesota refused the Trump administration’s efforts to charge former CNN anchor Don Lemon for his role in an anti-ICE protest at a church in Minneapolis.
Attorney General Pam Bondi had sought to charge Lemon under the Face Act, which, according to the New York Times, “makes it a crime to physically obstruct or use threats of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services or seeking to participate in a service at a house of worship.”
Lemon defended himself by insisting that he was not part of the protest but rather was covering it as a journalist.
“Once the protest started in the church we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church and members of the organization,” Lemon said. “That’s it. That’s called journalism.”
Let me say a few things before I go any further:
Don and I worked together at CNN earlier this decade. I was a semi-regular guest on his show. We were not close friends but were certainly cordial.
Like Don, I was let go by CNN during the time when Chris Licht served as the president of the network — although the circumstances of our departures were quite different.
Don absolutely should not have been charged in this instance.
With all that said, I DO think the question raised by this incident — what makes someone a journalist versus an activist? — is a very worthy one. And one on which I have a LOT of thoughts.
Let’s get into it.
