Reporters are being trained to cover the Republican Convention like a 'war zone'


For the price of $1,195, journalists headed to Cleveland for the Republican National Convention can go into the affair with the kinds of skills needed to report in a war zone. Paul Burton, the training director for Global Journalist Security, usually counsels photographers and writers preparing to enter conflict zones like Afghanistan and Iraq, but he recently offered a special course to journalists covering the Republican convention in Cleveland, The New Yorker reports.
A retired British commando, Burton served in the invasion of the Falkland Islands and ran operations in Northern Ireland before joining Global Journalist Security. "Trump's supporters have been primed to be aggressive," the former military man told his students. "We've got a feeling something may happen, especially if Trump doesn't get what he wants."
Training included learning jiu-jitsu moves as well as how to treat burns, breaks, and chest wounds. Burton also walked his students through simulated conventions, rallies, and Black Lives Matter protests:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Next: a maze called the Old City, in the rear of the warehouse. In one scenario, a mock Trump rally, a tape of Trump's voice played ("The money that's being drained out of our economy is enormous"), while six instructors, posing as amped-up supporters, set upon the press. "Get the f--k out of here!" one yelled. Another yanked on the photographer's camera strap and shouted, "F--king scumbag!" The journalists retreated to safety."You did well," Burton said. "You're not going to be able to reason with them. You're not going to get any good interviews. All you're thinking of is trying to deescalate and get the hell out of there." [The New Yorker]
Desperate times do indeed call for desperate measures, it seems. Read more about how journalists and photographers are preparing for the convention in The New Yorker.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders