U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

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U.S. Press Freedom Tracker The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a comprehensive database of press freedom incidents in the United States. border and physical attacks.

Press Freedom Tracker is a comprehensive database of press freedom incidents in the United States — everything from arrests of journalists and the seizure of their equipment to interrogations at the U.S. The Press Freedom Tracker documents incidents across the country, involving national, state and local authorities.

Indiana student newspaper the Indiana Daily Student was targeted in social media posts Nov. 12 by the state’s lieutenant...
15/11/2024

Indiana student newspaper the Indiana Daily Student was targeted in social media posts Nov. 12 by the state’s lieutenant governor-elect, Micah Beckwith.

Beckwith accused the paper of engaging in “elitist leftist propaganda” and said it “needs to stop.”

The student newspaper at Indiana University Bloomington was targeted on social media by a state politician on Nov. 12, 2024. …

DOJ accused three men on Nov. 8 of plotting to murder NY-based Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad. One was also ...
12/11/2024

DOJ accused three men on Nov. 8 of plotting to murder NY-based Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad. One was also involved in a plan to kill Donald Trump.

Thirteen others have been indicted since 2021 in connection with similar plots against Alinejad.

The Department of Justice announced charges on Nov. 8, 2024, against three men it accused of surveilling and plotting to …

08/11/2024

MI court dismissed felony assault charges against officer who fired rubber bullets at three photojournalists during 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Detroit.

An Oct. 21 dismissal order cited journalists’ failure to appear at trial.

A federal judge on Nov. 6 let a restraining order expire against the Florida surgeon general over an ad supporting an am...
08/11/2024

A federal judge on Nov. 6 let a restraining order expire against the Florida surgeon general over an ad supporting an amendment to end the state’s six-week abortion ban.

The official had threatened broadcasters with criminal charges if they aired it.

At least two Florida broadcast stations were sent cease and desist letters on Oct. 3, 2024, by the state’s Department …

Ohio’s attorney general will investigate whether government resources were misused when a Seneca County employee posted ...
08/11/2024

Ohio’s attorney general will investigate whether government resources were misused when a Seneca County employee posted an article on the county’s website Oct. 14.

The article attacked a reporter who wrote about a commissioner’s heated custody battle.

Advertiser-Tribune reporter Kayla Trevino and her journalistic integrity were attacked in an article published on the government website for Seneca …

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes was shoved by Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in the locker room foll...
08/11/2024

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes was shoved by Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in the locker room following a home game on Nov. 2.

The NBA is conducting an investigation.

Marcus Hayes, a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, was shoved by a player for the 76ers following a home game …

Former Sullivan County Democrat managing editor Joseph Abraham appealed a NY county court order requiring him to comply ...
05/11/2024

Former Sullivan County Democrat managing editor Joseph Abraham appealed a NY county court order requiring him to comply with a subpoena from a town official for Abraham’s testimony and documents in a defamation suit.

The former managing editor of the Sullivan County Democrat, a twice-weekly newspaper in New York’s Catskill Mountains, was subpoenaed on …

Calvin Andrus, a freelance journalist, filed a federal lawsuit Oct. 11 against the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, alleging fa...
04/11/2024

Calvin Andrus, a freelance journalist, filed a federal lawsuit Oct. 11 against the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, alleging false arrest and First Amendment retaliation after he was detained and charged with obstruction in November 2023.

Freelance photojournalist Calvin Andrus was arrested while recording the aftermath of a car accident in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the early …

Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein was visited at his Wisconsin home Oct. 11 by an FBI agent, who read him a prepar...
31/10/2024

Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein was visited at his Wisconsin home Oct. 11 by an FBI agent, who read him a prepared statement alerting him that he was a target of a “foreign influence campaign” when he was sent a hacked JD Vance dossier.

Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein was visited at his Madison, Wisconsin, home by an FBI special agent on Oct. 11, 2024, …

New: Nicole Shanahan, running mate for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s now-suspended independent presidential bid, allegedly off...
30/10/2024

New: Nicole Shanahan, running mate for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s now-suspended independent presidential bid, allegedly offered $500,000 to a Washington Post reporter to reveal sources for the publication’s profile of her.
https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/politics-and-the-press/ -23-2024-RFK

Election 2024: RFK Jr.’s ex-running mate allegedly offers journalist bribe to reveal sources
29/10/2024

Election 2024: RFK Jr.’s ex-running mate allegedly offers journalist bribe to reveal sources

Politics and the press: Tracking how the media is treated on the road to Election 2024

A WDTN videographer sustained minor injuries after being struck with a cane during a scuffle with would-be robbers Oct. ...
29/10/2024

A WDTN videographer sustained minor injuries after being struck with a cane during a scuffle with would-be robbers Oct. 17 in downtown Dayton, Ohio.

Two suspects fled and were indicted a week later on charges of robbery with physical harm.

A broadcaster photographer for NBC television affiliate WDTN was injured when a man struck him with a cane during an …

Freelance photojournalist Susan Stava was “broadsided” by a police officer while photographing an arrest outside a Donal...
28/10/2024

Freelance photojournalist Susan Stava was “broadsided” by a police officer while photographing an arrest outside a Donald Trump campaign event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 20.

One of her camera lenses was damaged when she hit the ground.

Freelance photojournalist Susan Stava was shoved to the ground by police while reporting outside a campaign event for Republican presidential …

Update: The Department of Justice indicted four more men on Oct. 17, 2024, for plotting to assassinate independent journ...
28/10/2024

Update: The Department of Justice indicted four more men on Oct. 17, 2024, for plotting to assassinate independent journalist Masih Alinejad.

It alleges the four are connected to the Iranian government.

Brooklyn, New York-based Iranian journalist and writer Masih Alinejad was the target of an international kidnapping plot, according to a …

Tyler Church, a reporter for university newspaper the Minnesota Daily, was briefly detained in handcuffs while reporting...
23/10/2024

Tyler Church, a reporter for university newspaper the Minnesota Daily, was briefly detained in handcuffs while reporting on a pro-Palestinian student protest on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis on Oct. 21.

Student journalist Tyler Church was briefly handcuffed and detained while reporting student protests against the Israel-Gaza war at the University …

The Texas woman seen on video kicking two members of a WTTG TV news crew at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was sentenced to 17 ...
18/10/2024

The Texas woman seen on video kicking two members of a WTTG TV news crew at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was sentenced to 17 months in prison on Oct. 17.

A Fox 5 DC news crew was harassed and a cameraman assaulted by rioters while covering the insurrection in and …

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Oct. 17 against Florida’s surgeon general, barring him from threat...
18/10/2024

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Oct. 17 against Florida’s surgeon general, barring him from threatening television stations for airing an ad that calls for the state’s six-week abortion ban to be overturned.

At least two Florida broadcast stations were sent cease and desist letters on Oct. 3, 2024, by the state’s Department …

Election 2024: Independent journalist Samuel Robinson was asked to leave a private Kamala Harris campaign event he’d bee...
18/10/2024

Election 2024: Independent journalist Samuel Robinson was asked to leave a private Kamala Harris campaign event he’d been invited to in Detroit after he posted photos and quotes from the gathering on X.

Politics and the press: Tracking how the media is treated on the road to Election 2024

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Six years ago today, a man armed with a shotgun entered the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, MD, and shot multiple journalists, media workers. Five people were killed in the attack, and two others were injured. It was the deadliest single attack on journalists in U.S. history. These are the names of the journalists, media worker murdered in the Capital Gazette shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 28, 2018: Gerald Fischman Rob Hiaasen John McNamara Wendi Winters Rebecca Smith https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-upset-newspaper-coverage-shoots-and-kills-multiple-journalists-capital-gazette-newsroom/

If you are a journalist — or know of one — who has been arrested, assaulted, tear gassed or had equipment damaged or seized in the course of reporting, we want to hear about it. DM or email [email protected]

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Journalists in the United States face hostility from local and federal governments, along with a number of legal threats to themselves and their sources. This nonpartisan website launched in 2017 and aims to be the first to provide reliable, easy-to-access information on the number of press freedom violations in the United States—from journalists facing charges to reporters stopped at the U.S. border or asked to hand over their electronics.

When journalists are obstructed, so is the public’s right to be informed and hold power to account. The United States has some of the strongest legal free speech protections in the world, and serves as a beacon for press freedom in a world where journalists are routinely censored, attacked, or imprisoned for their work. But the U.S. record is imperfect, and journalists and advocates must tirelessly defend the First Amendment in courts, in legislatures, and in the media. Constant vigilance and an honest accounting of the country’s track record on press freedom are essential.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker brings together more than two dozen press freedom groups to create a centralized repository for research. The data we gather will help inform advocacy, journalism, and legal action.

The tracker is based on a coalition that shares knowledge about threats to press freedom across the country. Freedom of the Press Foundation, a press freedom advocacy organization, manages the day-to-day operations of the site. The Committee to Protect Journalists heads a steering committee that includes the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reporters Without Borders, and Index on Censorship.