Dear Friend of Press Freedom:
One of the most important press freedom cases in the country deserves far more attention: Journalist Catherine Herridge has paid at least $4,000 in fines for refusing to reveal a confidential source, and she’ll owe even more unless the Supreme Court steps in. Plus: a new award for public records reporting, and the Justice Department’s subpoenas to The New York Times go down in flames.
New prize rewards making public records truly public
Are you a journalist who uses the Freedom of Information Act in your reporting? You could win $25,000.
This week, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) launched the Penlight Prize, honoring outstanding paywall-free reporting based on public records. Inspired by our partnership with Wired to drop paywalls for articles based on public records — a huge success for that outlet — the award recognizes journalism that makes publicly funded documents and the reporting based on them available to everyone, not just subscribers.
We hope this award encourages more journalists to use FOIA and more news outlets to unlock their articles built on public records.
DOJ’s losing streak continues in New York Times subpoena case
Prosecutors agreed to withdraw subpoenas to The New York Times over the newspaper’s report about security concerns with the Qatari-gifted Air Force One replacement this week, after a federal judge made clear they’d lose otherwise and could be sanctioned. The government issued subpoenas targeting not only reporters but their relatives — a line that even the Mafia says shouldn’t be crossed.
This is now at least the third news outlet the Trump administration has tried and failed to force to name confidential sources. The lesson is simple: It’s past time to fight back against Trump administration censorship. Take these clowns to court. They lose regularly.
Congress should also pass a federal shield law like the PRESS Act to stop future attempts to drag journalists into court to uncover confidential sources.
House committee takes aim at BreakThrough News
The Times beat back the DOJ’s subpoenas, but another newsroom is now in the government’s crosshairs.
This week, a House committee subpoenaed independent outlet BreakThrough News, demanding internal records under the pretense of investigating foreign influence in the nonprofit sector.
FPF Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern said, “If lawmakers can abuse tax oversight to single out outlets whose reporting offends them today, no newsroom in America is safe from government intimidation tomorrow.” The committee must withdraw the subpoena immediately.
MSG revives legal theory that once haunted ‘60 Minutes’
In the 1990s, CBS spiked a “60 Minutes” interview with tobacco whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand after network lawyers warned it could be sued for encouraging him to break a nondisclosure agreement.
Now, Madison Square Garden is trying to use that same dangerous legal theory against Wired magazine. Its new lawsuit against Wired is the latest example of the use of “tortious interference with contract” claims to go after journalists who rely on sources bound by NDAs.
These claims are baseless, but they’re far from harmless.
Pentagon secrecy push threatens access to unclassified records
A new move by the Defense Department poses a systemic threat to accountability, writes FPF’s Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper for MS NOW this week.
A proposal submitted to Congress last month would empower the Pentagon to exempt “controlled unclassified information” from the federal Freedom of Information Act — effectively putting millions of files beyond the reach of taxpayers, and open records laws, potentially forever.
DC Bar should push back against FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s abuse of power
Lawyers who facilitate sham settlements to benefit President Donald Trump are subject to professional discipline, according to a recent ruling in Trump’s spurious case against the IRS.
That’s why we’re asking District of Columbia attorney ethics officials to reopen our disciplinary complaint against Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, whose role in facilitating Trump’s settlement of his frivolous lawsuit against CBS raises similar concerns.
And so should you
You can also take action to combat Carr’s anti-speech antics. The FCC is accepting comments until July 29 on Carr’s bogus order directing an early review of broadcast licenses for eight Disney-owned ABC stations. Our easy-to-use action center allows you to tell the FCC to stop abusing its power to harass the press.
What we’re reading
Jim Acosta, Ann Curry, and over 500 journalists renew call to confront Trump at WHCA dinner
We joined hundreds of journalists calling on the White House Correspondents’ Association to stand up for press freedom in front of the president and publicly defend the journalists he attacks at its rescheduled dinner tonight.
FCC officials took pricey gifts from Paramount as the company needed approval for billion-dollar deals
We filed a FOIA request to find out if — and how many times — FCC commissioners have shamelessly accepted gifts from media giants behind closed doors.
Producer detained after judge closes courtroom for grand jury indictment
In one of the dumbest arguments we’ve ever heard, a judge in New Orleans is trying to claim that “open court” means a judge is present on the bench, not that the courtroom is open to the public.
ICE refuses to release any info on its workforce
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s secrecy around its personnel files is “unworkable” and “untenable,” said FPF’s Harper.
Local law enforcement in Los Angeles emerges epicenter of crowd-control weapon misuse, new report finds
This report “should be a wakeup call about the day-to-day horrors in our own local streets,” said FPF’s Deputy Advocacy Director Adam Rose. “The First Amendment doesn’t make us a bastion of free speech, it just makes these acts that much more shameful when our government routinely violates it.”
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