Amicus briefs support CPJ’s appeal in Khashoggi lawsuit
Nearly three dozen media and press freedom organizations, as well as 10 major human rights organizations and experts, have signed on to amicus briefs in support of CPJ’s appeal in its lawsuit seeking documents on whether U.S. intelligence agencies knew of threats to Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi before his murder by the Saudi government….
NYPD subpoenaed reporter’s phone records in leak case
New York, July 27, 2020 – The New York City Police Department should refrain from subpoenaing journalists’ phone records or other information that could reveal sourcing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 14, a New York-based freelance journalist who works for the Daily Mail received a letter stating that their phone records…
US federal law officers attack journalists covering protests in Portland
New York, July 24, 2020 – U.S. federal law enforcement agencies must ensure that journalists can cover protests freely, and must refrain from attacking members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. “All law enforcement agencies must stop using aggressive tactics against journalists covering protests in the United States,” said CPJ Program…
Christiane Amanpour ‘deeply troubled’ by US press freedom developments, she tells Helsinki Commission
New York, July 23, 2020— Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor and a senior adviser to CPJ, today called on Congress to protect independent media and press freedom in the United States, saying, “Your democratic legitimacy depends on it.” In prepared remarks for a hearing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, better…
Prospects bleak for recovery of US media presence in China
The slugfest between China and the U.S. over the treatment of media workers in each country appears to have paused. Rather than expel each other’s journalists, as they did a few months ago, each side in early July imposed registration and reporting requirements on those remaining—still many more Chinese in the U.S. than Americans in…
Reporters Committee, NPPA, CPJ to host training series for journalists covering 2020 political conventions
New York, July 17, 2020–The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the National Press Photographers Association, and the Committee to Protect Journalists will lead a series of training sessions from July 28–August 7 for journalists covering the 2020 national political conventions. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 17–20, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,…
Reported press freedom violations in Black Lives Matter protests near 500
New York, July 15, 2020—The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is investigating nearly 500 reported press freedom incidents since May 26, representing the unprecedented nature of attacks on journalists during recent nationwide Black Lives Matter protests. The incidents include journalists arrested, assaulted, hit with rubber bullets, pepper sprayed, tear gassed and threatened with weapons. A vast…
Data journalists describe challenges of reporting on the true toll of COVID-19
How many people worldwide have been infected by the coronavirus, and how many have died as a result? Finding reliable information on the virus’s toll has proven such a challenging task that it is nearly impossible to answer these basic questions, five data journalists from around the world told CPJ in May and June. In…
US, UK, Interpol give Ghana phone hacking tools, raising journalist concerns on safety and confidentiality
In May 2019, senior members of Ghana’s law enforcement posed for photos with the U.S. ambassador to their country at a ceremony in the capital, Accra. Between them they held boxes and bags, gifts from the U.S. government to Ghana which, according to one of the recipients, contained Israeli phone hacking technology. That recipient was…
Voice of America visa review could put journalists at risk
New York, July 13, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern that the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s review of visas at Voice of America could endanger journalists who have worked for the international, U.S.-Congress funded news outlet. “Voice of America has brought independent news to tightly censored countries and offered journalists working in…