The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

10/22/2026

ICYMI: Reporters Committee is now in Minnesota!

Our new Twin Cities-based attorney, Christopher Proczko, is available to provide legal support to journalists and newsrooms across the state — all at no cost.

“Dedicated free legal support is a lifeline to reporters in small local newsrooms, freelancers, and independent journalists who don’t always have the resources to fight lengthy public records battles or get their stories vetted for legal risk,” Proczko said. “Having a dedicated attorney on-call is less a convenience than a necessity for a growing share of the state’s newsrooms.”

🔗Learn more about Proczko and our work in Minnesota:

Twin Cities attorney Christopher Proczko joins as the organization's first full-time Minnesota-based lawyer.

10/21/2026

Attorneys from Reporters Committee and Shullman Fugate are warning Florida election officials against enforcing a law that restricts any person — including journalists — from asking questions of voters within 150 feet of a polling place.

In a letter on behalf of Miami-based journalist Abel Fernández, attorneys argue that the law is "extraordinarily overbroad” and appears to ban protected newsgathering.

“Interviewing voters is an essential part of covering an election,” said Fernández, who was unconstitutionally expelled from a polling place while interviewing voters last year, apparently running afoul of the law. “Journalists should be able to report without interference.”

🔗 Read more:

On behalf of journalist Abel Fernández, Reporters Committee attorneys warn election officials not to unconstitutionally enforce the law.

10/21/2026

10/19/2026

ICYMI: The Department of Justice reportedly opened an antitrust investigation into several major TV networks after they suspended pool coverage in response to the White House press ban.

Reporters Committee President Bruce D. Brown called the move “another and even more brazen attempt to try to intimidate journalists.”

Reporters Committee President Bruce D. Brown called the investigation “another and even more brazen attempt to try to intimidate journalists.”

10/14/2026

Tonight is the 2026 Freedom of the Press Awards, an occasion where we honor leaders in journalism and media law whose work embodies the values of the First Amendment! This year's winners include:

🏆 Norman Pearlstine, journalist;
🏆 Michele Norris, senior contributing editor, MS NOW; founding director, The Race Card Project; host, Your Mama’s Kitchen podcast;
🏆 The Marshall Project;
🏆 trina reynolds tyler, data director, Invisible Institute; and
🏆 David A. Schulz, director, Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School.

Watch a livestream of the Awards starting at 7 p.m. EDT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHDFIfse9_g

10/14/2026

On Tuesday, a federal judge once again blocked the Trump administration from shutting CNN, MS NOW, and Politico out of the White House.

“The court has put an end to a blatantly unconstitutional attempt to punish news outlets for coverage the president doesn’t like,” said Reporters Committee President Bruce D. Brown. The decision protects not only the press, but the public, Brown added.

🔗 Read our full statement:

The court’s decision protects not only the press, but the public, said Reporters Committee President Bruce D. Brown.

10/13/2026

When Western Wayne News reporter Mike Emery received a subpoena for testimony in a federal lawsuit, he decided to fight it — he just needed help to do so.

Emery and the newspaper's publisher Chris Hardie reached out to Reporters Committee attorney Kris Cundiff, who drafted a motion to quash the subpoena, arguing that it placed an undue burden on the journalist and sought information protected under the First Amendment.

Just two days later, a judge granted the motion to quash the subpoena.

“It worked out fantastic,” Emery said. “Any newsroom that faces any type of situation like this would definitely benefit from calling [Reporters Committee] and getting that kind of expertise.”

A defendant in a federal lawsuit wanted a reporter to testify at a trial. Thanks to a Reporters Committee attorney’s free legal support, he won’t have to.

10/08/2026

A little-known federal rule blocks the press from electronic access to immigration case filings, keeping the public in the dark about the Trump administration’s enforcement operations and treatment of detainees in its custody.

In a new lawsuit filed on behalf of The AP, Reporters Committee attorneys argue that these restrictions violate the First Amendment and impede timely reporting in the public interest.

“The public has a significant interest in understanding the impact of the federal government’s nationwide immigration crackdown, yet so many important stories are hidden by this court rule,” said Renee Griffin.

Reporters Committee attorneys argue that the rule unconstitutionally impedes news coverage on a matter of intense public interest.

10/07/2026

The failed ex*****on of Christa Pike has brought renewed attention to a lawsuit — led by Reporters Committee attorneys — seeking expanded press access to capital punishment proceedings in Tennessee.

Media witnesses were blocked from observing large portions of last week’s attempted ex*****on of Pike, who survived two doses of lethal injection drugs, leaving the public without an independent account of the entire process.

“Whether you're for capital punishment or not, when the state exercises that very awesome power, it's imperative that we have the media there to witness it,” Reporters Committee attorney Paul McAdoo told WBIR Channel 10.

The failed ex*****on of Christa Pike has intensified a lawsuit challenging Tennessee's restrictions on media access to ex*****ons, pushing for more transparency.

10/02/2026

New: Reporters Committee — joined by a coalition of 77 media organizations — filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO's challenge to the ongoing White House press ban.

In addition to arguing that the ban is unconstitutional and violates decades of Supreme Court precedent, the brief makes the case that expelling news outlets from the White House “is part of a broad series of actions the administration has taken in an effort to bend reporting to the will of the President.”

Dozens of media outlets joined Reporters Committee in urging a court to restore White House access to the news outlets.