CPJ offers U.S. legal guide for election coverage

Capitol Police watch as activists react to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo: Getty Images-AFP/Nathan Howard)

This election year in the United States poses particular and heightened challenges for journalists, as they face confrontations with law enforcement at demonstrations, raids on newspaper offices, and an increasingly hostile environment for many in the media.

The Committee to Protect Journalists is responding to the needs of journalists with an updated guide to legal rights in the U.S., including quick tips, First and Fourth Amendment rights, and information on covering the 2024 presidential election conventions, which are set for July 15-18 in Milwaukee (Republican) and August 19-22 in Chicago (Democratic).

CPJ’s advice and recommendations in the guide offer a high-level understanding of the rights of a journalist when confronted by law enforcement officers while covering a protests and political events. Topics include press credentials, trespassing rules, video and audio recording guidelines, and public access considerations.

Record number of Palestinian journalists arrested in Israel-Gaza war

Journalist Abdel Nasser al-Laham, blindfolded with hands tied behind his back, is led away by Israeli soldiers on October 16, 2023, after they broke down the door to his home in the West Bank, south of Bethlehem. (Screengrab: CPJ/Ma’an News Agency)

Since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, an unprecedented number of journalists and media workers have been arrested — often without charge — in what they and their attorneys say is retaliation for their journalism and commentary.

As of July 2, CPJ has documented a total of 51 arrests of journalists in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza and in the city of Jerusalem, claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians as a capital, since the war began on October 7, 2023. Israel arrested 48; Palestinian authorities arrested three.

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Journalists Attacked

Myat Thu Tan

MURDERED

Myat Thu Tan, a contributor to the local news website Western News and correspondent for several independent Myanmar news outlets, was shot and killed on January 31, 2024, while in military custody in Mrauk-U in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State.

He was arrested on September 22, 2022, and held in pre-trial detention under a broad provision of the penal code that criminalizes incitement and the dissemination of false news for critical posts he made on his Facebook page. Myat Thu Tan had not been tried or convicted at the time of his death.

The journalist’s body was found buried in a bomb shelter, with the bodies of six other political detainees, and showed signs of torture.

Myanmar’s military junta has cracked down on journalists and media outlets since seizing power in a February 2021 coup.

Learn more about Myat Thu Tan