It’s become a journalistic cliche – the crew or photographer who film police misbehaving and then have to hide the evidence or have it destroyed. Curiously enough that now appears to have become an ‘occupational’ hazard for citizen journalists.

Kimberley Michaelson writes how witnesses to an alleged police beating in Chicago were told to delete their mobile phone pics and footage or face the same treatment.

It helps me edge toward another element of a definition of a journalist (whether citizen or not) as someone who has evidence and shares it. Of course that would rule out loads of columnists and other writers and rule in a bunch of legal professionals. No probs there.

Hat tip and much more to Geoff Dougherty who is the Editor supporting Kimberley and other online citizen journalists in Cjicago.