I worked as a professional TV news videographer for a decade. Having now left media, I don't have any sympathy for journalists whatsoever. Most of them are vile, lazy, narcissistic, back-stabbing pieces of excrement. Let them find their own news. Let them stay up all night clicking "refresh" on Twitter, hoping to catch a lead on some "just happened" incident (I refuse to use the term "breaking news"; it's an overused and abused term for the purpose of hyping something that's of little importance).
But, one thing that really irked me toward the end was the attitude I received from police when I showed up to do my job and document something of public interest. Police hate media. But media are the first people police call (invite) when they have something they wish to show off, or when they require public assistance in locating a homicide/kidnapping suspect or missing person. Guess what? The media isn't your public relations division, officers. I've never understood why media rushes to the cop shop for a "press conference". The cops are the first people who back-stab and trash-talk media as soon as backs are turned.
Speaking on my experience from Winnipeg, maybe it's because the handful of corrupt, abusive officers employed by the WPS refuse to wear body cameras. Or maybe it was the beating of handcuffed, restrained prisoners, or the "knees to the face" while seated in the back of a police car which I witnessed a handful of times. Perhaps it's the accumulative incidents which lead to PTSD and short fuses. But cops in Winnipeg sure hate it when media shows up. "MEDIA ON SCENE!" is voiced to all officers, as soon as the cameras come out. It shouldn't matter, as they should be conducting themselves the same off-camera, as on. Is it the same in Regina, Saskatoon and other prairie cities? I bet it is.
Like the rest of you in the prairie provinces, I grew up listening to the police and the wild, feral animals they protect the public from. It's a job which doesn't come with many perks. Respect from the public is questionable; I certainly wouldn't want to volunteer any association with law enforcement as a career choice.
There are areas of contention and concern which must change, if police want to repair the respect which used to be afforded with policing. A good start would be transparency, a reform of investigative process for officers charged with a crime, prioritization of policing resources based on input from the public, BODY CAMERAS and all internal police communications (ALL radio talkgroups, phone calls, text messages, computer usage, etc.) should be logged.
Perhaps a little bit of a rant, but when discussing encryption/locking out the media, we are essentially discussing transparency and accountability, and the public's access/awareness of what's going on around them.