Dear Friend of Press Freedom,
Here are some of the most important stories we’re following from the U.S. and around the world. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please forward it to friends and family. If someone has forwarded you this newsletter, please subscribe here.
Police ignore warnings about press freedom at DNC protests
The First Amendment prohibits police from dispersing law-abiding journalists covering protests, even in circumstances where lawbreaking protesters can be dispersed. Everyone from the Department of Justice to federal appellate courts agrees on that.
Nonetheless, the Chicago Police Department repeatedly dispersed, arrested, and threatened journalists at protests during the first two days of the Democratic National Convention.
As we explain on our website, Chicago police ignored numerous warnings to respect journalists’ rights and even declined training on the issue, claiming they didn’t need it. Those responsible need to be held accountable.
As protests return to campus, schools must do better on press freedom
Campus demonstrations in the spring resulted in unwarranted and unnecessary arrests, assaults, and abuses of both student and professional journalists after college administrations deployed local and campus police to dampen student activism.
Four months later, the Israel-Gaza war is still ongoing, and the protests are likely to return. As students make their way back to campus for the 2024-25 academic year, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) authored letters to universities around the country, outlining the constitutional framework that protects the press and providing guidelines for university leaders and law enforcement to follow so journalists can cover protests freely and safely.
Why is Chicago removing newsracks for the DNC?
A few short months ago, a couple of college kids at Northwestern University placed parody flyers with obviously fake Daily Northwestern front pages on stacks of student newspapers around campus. Prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois, responded by digging up a rarely used statute criminalizing “theft of advertising services” and charging the students.
That’s why it was surprising to read in the Chicago Reader’s newsletter that, in anticipation of the Democratic National Convention, the city of Chicago instructed a vendor to remove at least 83 newsracks from downtown Chicago, without notifying the Reader or, presumably, other impacted news outlets. City officials may view newsracks as eyesores but they distribute free newspapers that residents, particularly in marginalized communities, rely on.
What we’re reading
Want a dedicated chair and an electrical outlet? For journalists at the DNC, the price starts at $751 (WBEZ Chicago). It’s a shame that a party that claims to support press freedom uses the newsworthiness of its convention as a price-gouging opportunity (meanwhile, social media influencers get the red-carpet treatment). WBEZ reports that a similar setup at the Republican National Convention cost $100.
U.S. investigating Americans who worked with Russian state television (New York Times). “The government’s investigation is politically fraught. … By targeting Americans working with news organizations, even if they are state-run, the inquiry could also bump up against the First Amendment’s protection of rights to free speech.”
Meta kills off misinformation tracking tool CrowdTangle despite pleas from researchers, journalists (Associated Press). Meta is killing CrowdTangle, a tool used for years by journalists to track and fight misinformation online. By shutting it down amid global unrest and an upcoming presidential election, the tech giant is undermining its transparency efforts.
KBI history offers ample reasons for Kansans to scrutinize Marion raid investigation (Kansas Reflector). “The Kansas Bureau of Investigation misled the public in two of its most high-profile cases, with the truth emerging only decades after those cases were closed. That history should reinforce skepticism of special prosecutors’ interpretation of KBI files in the raid on the Marion County Record newspaper.”
Work at FPF
Our editorial team is hiring a newsletter editor. Read the job description and apply here.
Follow us on Instagram and TikTok
Freedom of the Press Foundation is now live on Instagram and TikTok. Click the links to follow us and see our latest posts about press freedom.
