ORLANDO, Florida — The parents of a local TV journalist who was fatally shot while reporting on a killing in central Florida in 2023 have filed a negligence lawsuit against their son’s former workplace, claiming the media company didn’t do enough to protect him.
Dylan Lyons’ parents, who is a reporter for Spectrum News 13, filed a case on Tuesday in Orlando state court. It is asking for money from Charter Communications, the company that owns Spectrum, for the benefit of the journalist’s estate.
The case claimed that Lyons did not receive any security or safety gear, even though he was at a crime scene where a woman had been shot and the suspect was still on the loose.
On Wednesday, Spectrum stated in an email that the claims were not true and that it would try to have them dropped.
“Spectrum said that Dylan’s murder was a terrible and unexpected tragedy.” “Dylan was a victim of a pointless act of violence related to these allegations.”
Lyons and cameraman Jesse Walden were reporting on the murder of a woman when the suspect came up and shot them. Lyons died, and Walden was hurt. Just minutes earlier, the suspect had broken into a nearby home and fatally shot a 9-year-old girl and wounded her mother, officials said.
Keith Moses was charged with murder for the deaths of Lyons, the woman, and the girl. He has pleaded not guilty.
The claim says that Spectrum makes its reporters and videographers work in high-crime areas but does not give them safety equipment or security support.
“The lawsuit said that journalists are facing more violence because of their jobs.”
Bruce Shapiro, who edited a study on journalist safety training in 2017, said in an email on Wednesday that it’s clear local reporting has become more dangerous in the United States.
“Not only crime reporters but investigative journalists, local political reporters, and even television meteorologists have endured unprecedented abuse, harassment, and violent attacks,” said Shapiro, executive head of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia Journalism School.
The 2017 study looked at reporters covering wars and crises. Since then, more people have acknowledged that local newsrooms should take care of their staff’s safety. However, there is still no clear agreement on what this means.
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