USA / Americas

For data on press freedom violations in the U.S., visit the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a partnership between CPJ and Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Read CPJ’s report on the Biden administration and the press.

  

CPJ urges US to mitigate threats to journalism, newsgathering

Letter to President Barack Obama highlights threats to press freedom in the United States New York, September 22, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama today, expressing its concern about the effects that intelligence and law enforcement activities have on the free flow of news. The letter, which comes…

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CPJ urges US to mitigate threats to journalism, newsgathering

Dear President Obama: The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide, is writing to express its concern about the effects of intelligence and law enforcement activities undertaken by agencies, over which your administration has oversight, on the free flow of news and other information in the public interest.

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Right to Report in the Digital Age

CPJ launches anti-surveillance campaign New York, September 8, 2014–Revelations about surveillance, intimidation, and exploitation of the press have raised unsettling questions about whether the U.S. and other Western democracies risk undermining journalists’ ability to report in the digital age. They also give ammunition to repressive governments seeking to tighten restrictions on media and the Internet.…

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We must fight to preserve journalists’ right to report in digital age

With journalists around the world being killed, kidnapped, and murdered in record numbers why is the Committee to Protect Journalists launching a campaign targeting U.S. government policies?

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CPJ condemns murder of US journalist Steven Sotloff

New York, September 2, 2014–The Islamic State militant group released a video Tuesday purporting to show the beheading of American freelance journalist Steven Sotloff, according to news reports. Sotloff, who was abducted in Syria in August 2013, would be the second American journalist murdered by Islamic State. In a video posted online on August 19,…

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News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, August 2014

US-Africa Leaders Summit President Barack Obama hosted the first US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington D.C. this month. The discussion focused on trade and investment, but CPJ helped put press freedom on the agenda. At a time of unprecedented growth and change in Africa, journalists are under increasing pressure, with spikes in repression from Ethiopia to…

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An Islamic State militant stands with the Islamist flag in Iraq. (AFP/Welayat Salahuddin)

James Foley’s killers pose many threats to local, international journalists

New York, August 20, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is extremely concerned for all journalists, most of them Syrians, still held captive by the Al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State, which has repeatedly kidnapped, killed, and threatened journalists in the territories over which it holds sway. President Barack Obama confirmed today that the group is responsible…

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CPJ condemns killing of American journalist James Foley

New York, August 19, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of James Foley, a U.S. freelance journalist, who was abducted in Syria in November 2012. In a video posted online, the Al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State claimed to have executed Foley, saying the act was retribution for U.S. military intervention in Iraq.

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Police in Ferguson, Missouri, arrest Scott Olson, a photographer for Getty Images. (Reuters/Joshua Lott)

CPJ condemns ongoing harassment, arrests of reporters in Ferguson

New York, August 19, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the continued harassment and detentions of journalists covering the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked by the police killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. At least nine journalists have been detained and released without charge since Saturday, according to CNN. Two others were briefly…

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CPJ concerned by arrests, harassment of reporters covering unrest in Ferguson, Missouri

New York, August 14, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the attacks on and brief detentions of journalists covering protests in Ferguson, Missouri, over the past week in reaction to the killing of teenager Michael Brown by the police. Two journalists were briefly detained on Wednesday and released without charge. Journalists have reported…

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