Putting Your Cards Down

Red is for ICE. Green is for journalists. Those are the colors of the bilingual information cards that LA Public Press, a nonprofit newsroom, started distributing to Angelenos this year as a quick reference guide on how to navigate ICE encounters and how to handle interactions with the media. The ICE cards came first, in June, when the National Guard was deployed to Los Angeles. The media cards were issued after protests in the city became the focus of national coverage, and reporters sought to speak with residents who were vulnerable to ICE raids.

Michelle Zenarosa, LA Public Press’s editor in chief, saw that people needed guidance on their rights not only when dealing with ICE, but also in talking to the media. In July, the LA Times published a story about immigration raids in which some of the subjects were identified by their full names and professions. According to Zenarosa, some people interviewed for that story told LA Public Press reporters they hadn’t understood that everything they told the LA Times reporter could be used in print. The inclusion of their names and job titles in the article upset them, she said.

Gustavo Arellano, the LA Times reporter for the story in question, said that he did not receive any complaints after publication. He identified himself as a reporter for the LA Times and asked people if it was okay to quote them using their full names. He also said that he honors requests from sources who want to be identified by their first names only. “You always have to be sensitive of who you’re interviewing,” he said.