Advancing Press Freedom Through Pro Bono Legal Support

Model and Strategy

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is the only national nonprofit organization focused on providing free legal services to reporters and news organizations. Our services make possible the critical, investigative stories that bring to light information that communities need. The public also benefits from the legal precedents created to advance press freedom protections and the First Amendment. Battery Powered support will enable the Reporters Committee to continue providing: -Our free legal hotline. Through this service, attorneys provide journalists with answers to their legal questions and connect them with appropriate resources. We typically respond to more than 500 requests each year. -Impact and needs-based litigation in state and federal courts. Our current docket is 51 active litigation matters. In addition, our attorneys assemble large coalitions of press freedom advocates and news organizations to file more than 80 amicus briefs each year. -Free legal guides and training for journalists on federal and state laws, policies that affect reporting, and First Amendment issues. Each year, we support thousands of journalists with these free services. -Pre-publication review. Reporters Committee attorneys work with journalists and documentary filmmakers to vet stories before they are published to reduce legal risk and instill confidence to pursue important investigative stories. Many of the projects we’ve provided pre-publication review for have gone on to win awards. -The Local Legal Initiative. A new initiative that has placed attorneys in Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee to provide direct, pro bono legal services specifically for local journalists in those communities. We are exploring new ways to expand this initiative.

Impact

Journalists across the country have told us that police accountability is one of the most difficult issues to cover. In Oregon, Oklahoma, and Colorado, we successfully won records for journalists seeking information about police’s involvement in recent deaths of community members. In Tennessee, body-worn camera footage obtained by our attorney on behalf of a reporter led to investigative reporting that ultimately informed the way the Memphis police department disciplined officers accused of excessive force. This is a growing body of work as we support more local journalists.

Reporters Committee attorneys have long fought to shield journalists from having to disclose their confidential sources and reporting materials. In July 2021, in a historic win for press freedom, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a new policy barring the Justice Department from seizing journalists’ notes, work product, phone and email records, and other information. This new policy was a direct result of a long-running effort led by the Reporters Committee since 2013.

Reporters Committee attorneys are currently working on 23 pre-publication matters. Recent reporting that we have supported through prepublication review has shone light on everything from anti-boycott legislation, how schools have responded to the rise in mass shootings, worker safety issues in Oklahoma, and how far-right extremists are driving local public health officials out of office across the West.ountability is one of the most difficult issues to cover. In Oregon, Oklahoma, and Colorado, we successfully won records for journalists seeking information about police’s involvement in recent deaths of community members. In Tennessee, body-worn camera footage obtained by our attorney on behalf of a reporter led to investigative reporting that ultimately informed the way the Memphis police department disciplined officers accused of excessive force. This is a growing body of work as we support more local journalists.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press