Pols & Politics: 2 Boston Globe reporters attacked in Mass and Cass spillover hot spot

Two Boston Globe reporters were attacked in the South End while presumably attempting to report on the open-air drug market and violence that has spilled over from Mass and Cass into surrounding neighborhoods. Pols & Politics logo (Boston Herald) The Boston Guardian identified the two Globe staffers as Niki Griswold, a reporter, and Barry Chin, a photographer, while stating that the attack also involved two South End residents who were accompanying the journalists and took place near Rosie’s Place on Harrison Avenue. The report was confirmed last week by the Boston Globe, via an internal memo that was sent to the newsroom by Globe editor Nancy Barnes and published by Media Nation’s Dan Kennedy. “The incident at Mass. and Cass involving our journalists, Niki Griswold and Barry Chin, is understandably concerning to everyone who goes out on assignment in places that might be dangerous,” Barnes reportedly wrote in the memo. “The situation at Mass. and Cass has evolved in recent years, and we are considering a requirement for anyone going there to have security, which we will discuss with our reporting teams and the rest of the company.” According to the Boston Guardian, whose reporting was based on a firsthand account by the two residents who were attacked, the situation escalated when the Globe photographer began to take photos “to document instances of open-air drug use” in the area, a known hot spot for Mass and Cass spillover. “When Chin started to take photos, the residents said, a drug user approached them and started threatening them by swinging a ‘cat’s paw’ weapon, a metal rod with nails sticking out of it,” the Guardian report states. “They managed to deter this person, but as the Globe staffers continued taking photos, the person got the attention of some others who the residents identified as dealers.” One of the residents told the Guardian that the second man who confronted their group was “much more threatening. He wanted to take the camera, wanted us to delete the pictures.” Per the Guardian report, one of the residents mentioned being able to fend off the attacker, to give the group of journalists and citizens time to run and seek shelter so they could call the police. GBH investigative reporter Tori Bedford reacted to the Globe editor’s internal memo on social media, stating on X, “Here’s some security advice for taking photos and talking to people at Mass and Cass. “Don’t openly carry a big camera and point it at people who don’t want to be photographed, and don’t take photos of people — especially faces — without permission,” Bedford wrote. Then-Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson had her phone snatched for taking photos at Mass and Cass two years ago. The phone was grabbed from the then-councilor’s hands while she was taking pictures around 112 Southampton St., a Boston police report states of Fernandes Anderson’s recount of the August 2023 incident. The incident was captured on police bodycam footage that was obtained by the Herald. In the video, one woman in the area could be heard telling Fernandes Anderson, “Listen, you was going to be taking pictures.” Barnes’ internal memo to the Globe newsroom states that the attack on its journalists has spurred the publication to contact “Poynter and the Dart Institute about training for reporters covering protests or other points of contact.” “And, we will have a fuller conversation with our reporters and photographers who cover Mass. and Cass and other trouble spots to discuss best practices for journalists in the weeks and months ahead,” Barnes reportedly wrote. Related Articles Pols & Politics: Massachusetts Gov. 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It is not safe in and around Mass and Cass any longer. We need a new aggressive public safety plan to address the open drug use, dealing and violent crime that is taking place there frequently.” Flynn, who represents part of the South End, added that he considers the situation at and around Mass and Cass to be a “public health and public safety emergency.”