"collecting signatures" ... “when this same CBS staffer came by and said, ‘You can’t do that.’

Wednesday, September 5, 2007 by The Progressive | CBS Early Show Removes Anti-War Protesters from View in Kansas City | by Matthew Rothschild

On August 10, the CBS Early Show came to Kansas City, Missouri.
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They reached a compromise. The CBS employee, along with security, allowed them to stay in the park so long as they did not get into camera view.

“I promise you the TV cameras will not span this area,” the CBS employee said.

That’s not exactly what the protesters had hoped for.

“I was very disappointed,” says Harritt. “CBS was censoring what messages Kansas Cityans were bringing to the Early Show.”

Harritt says other signs were allowed to be seen on camera.

“One was supporting the Navy,” he says. “One said, ‘Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.’ There were signs for things for sale, and commercial signs.”

Harritt finds that inconsistent and troubling.

“Given that the Iraq War is the most important issue on people’s minds,” he says, “that they wouldn’t allow this opinion to be on the public airwaves means that they want to make sure that the messages don’t conflict with the large multinationals that are profiting from this war.”

CBS wouldn’t even allow Harritt to circulate an anti-war petition where he wanted to in the park, he says. The petition was to defund the war and refund human needs.

“I had been circulating through the crowd of about 1,000 people collecting signatures,” he says, “when this same CBS staffer came by and said, ‘You can’t do that.’ I wasn’t even in camera view. But she reported me to a security officer. He told me I had to leave. A person was signing the petition at that moment. When he finished, the security officer threatened to arrest me if I didn’t move. So I moved.”

Corva Murphy wasn’t so lucky. She got handcuffed. ...
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Then someone from CBS said: ‘You have to put your signs down. CBS doesn’t want any political signs.’ ”

Corva and Everett Murphy insisted that this was a public park, but they were told it wasn’t.

“My husband said, ‘Yes it is. Our tax dollars pay for this.’ ”

But a police officer responded:

“You’ll really have to go. I’ll escort you. Your friends are down below,” referring to the AFSC demonstrators.
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She was not prepared for the cuffing, however.

“Was that ever a shock! They pull your arms behind you real hard, and put those cuffs on you immediately. Your arms are kind of jerked behind.”

Though Murphy was handcuffed, she was not arrested. ...