Charges dropped against Oregon journalist
Courtesy Joseph Rushmore
Too often, police arrest journalists for doing their jobs. These arrests and prosecutions chill important reporting.
Arrests and prosecutions of journalists often violate the First Amendment, and they undermine the public’s right to learn about newsworthy events.
Data from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker shows that journalists are at heightened risk of arrest while covering protests. But police have also arrested reporters just for gathering news or asking questions. Journalists should never be arrested for doing their jobs.
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Powerful groups aim to silence reporting on unauthorized audio despite its clear significance and immediate reverberations.
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Supreme Court ruling limits paths for journalists to hold federal officers accountable
In a Supreme Court term packed with controversial cases, one of the more-overlooked rulings has alarmed press freedom advocates as it gutted the legal mechanism used to hold federal officers liable for violating individuals’ constitutional rights.
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Exploiting tragedy: Police in Uvalde and Buffalo clamp down on free press
Police have used the aftermath of mass shootings to restrict press access and threaten arrest of journalists on the ground, according to recent reporting by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. In each of those cities, as tragedy unfolded and reporters began working, they have faced unnecessary hurdles erected by law enforcement and public officials.
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FPF, dozens of groups condemn LA County sheriff’s retaliatory statements against reporter
The Los Angeles County sheriff’s public threat of retaliatory investigation into a reporter is an outrageous press freedom violation, and Freedom of the Press Foundation has joined over two dozen groups last week in a letter condemning that action.
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What’s worse than NYPD press credentialing? An unfair mayor’s office process
New York City Hall is out of line in demanding information about the criminal backgrounds and open cases of journalists applying for press credentials.
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Landmark order protecting press freedom from Minnesota police should be a model around the country
Court ordered settlement requires Minnesota State Patrol to stop arresting and assaulting journalists.
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One of the Internet’s most impactful protests, a decade later
Ten years ago, a powerful online activism campaign against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act stopped the bill in its tracks, much to the surprise of the lobbyists and legislators who had considered its passage inevitable. Led by grassroots organizers and civil liberties groups, sites big and small “went dark” for the day in a “blackout” designed to draw attention to the issue and direct calls to Washington.
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Another record year for press-freedom violations in the US
While we did not see the scope of national social-justice protests of 2020—a year in which journalists were arrested or assaulted on average more than once a day—2021 still outpaced the years before it for press-freedom violations. We systematically capture this data in the US Press Freedom Tracker, where Freedom of the Press Foundation, in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists and other press freedom groups, has documented aggressions against journalists in the United States since 2017.
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More than 60 journalists have sued police after protest arrests or assaults
More than 60 journalists have sued police after arrests or assaults at protests, according to new analysis from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. That total amounts to 82% of the lawsuits filed by journalist or media outlet plaintiffs against public officials.
