The New York Times building in New York City in November 2016. The United States Justice Department seized phone and email records from New York Times reporter Ali Watkins, according to reports. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

CPJ: Data seizure from New York Times reporter sets dangerous precedent

New York, June 8, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about the seizure of phone and email records from New York Times reporter Ali Watkins by the United States Justice Department in the first known incident that federal prosecutors have gone after a journalist’s data under President Donald Trump’s administration.

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Independent music journalist and video blogger Zachary Stoner is shown in this screenshot from his YouTube channel, zacktv1.

Independent music journalist Zachary Stoner killed in Chicago

Chicago, June 4, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the killing of independent music journalist Zachary Stoner, who was shot to death in the early hours of May 30 in Chicago, Illinois. Stoner published videos to his YouTube channel zacktv1, which focused on community life and hip hop artists in his hometown of Chicago.

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A lawsuit filed by the Democratic National Committee, photographed in Washington in April, accuses WikiLeaks, the Trump campaign, Russian operatives and others of a conspiracy to undercut Democrats in the 2016 election by stealing and publishing tens of thousands of emails and documents. (AP/Alex Brandon)

By suing WikiLeaks, DNC could endanger principles of press freedom

In 1993, WILK radio host Frederick Vopper broadcast a conversation intercepted by an illegal wiretap and sent anonymously to the Pennsylvania radio station, in which two teachers union officials discussed violent negotiating tactics. The officials sued Vopper, arguing that he should be liable for the illegal wiretap that captured their comments. But the Supreme Court…

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People attend the YouTube Fanfest in Jakarta, Indonesia, in October 2016. Google released its first YouTube-specific transparency report in May. (Reuters/Beawiharta)

Greater transparency welcome but social media sites should allow independent audits of content takedowns

In recent days, some of the world’s largest tech companies released new transparency reports, opened up their content moderation guidelines, and adopted approaches to fighting pernicious content as they tried to head off government regulation amid concerns about “fake news,” harassment, terrorism and other ills proliferating on their platforms.

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A demonstration calling for LGBT rights in Trinidad and Tobago on April 12. Journalists covering LGBTQ issues say they often face retaliation for their work. (Reuters/Andrea de Silva)

Covering LGBTQ issues brings risk of threats and retaliation for journalists and their sources

To mark the annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, CPJ spoke with journalists and news outlets based in Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, the U.S., Uganda, and Russia, about the challenges they face reporting on LGBTQ issues.

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A poster of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is carried at a protest against government corruption revealed by the Daphne Project, in Valletta, Malta, on April 29. Reporting on corruption can be a dangerous assignment. (Reuters/Darrin Zammit Lupi)

Make solving journalist murders a priority, CPJ tells US Helsinki Commission

“Being a reporter in much of the world is dangerous work. Being an investigative reporter can be deadly,” CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney told the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the Helsinki Commission, at a briefing in Washington, D.C. today.

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Journalists watch as Marine One, with President Donald Trump on board, lifts off from the White House in March 2018. An already hostile environment for the U.S. press has worsened since Trump came to power. (AP/Susan Walsh)

Joint report on press freedom in US details worsening media environment

Journalists and news organizations in the U.S. face a range of intensifying challenges that threaten their right to freedom of the press, according to a report launched today by international press freedom and free expression advocacy groups to mark World Press Freedom Day.

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This screenshot from the Memphis Noticias Facebook page shows Manuel Duran conducting an interview about alleged cooperation between Memphis police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Reporter arrested covering Memphis protest held in US immigration detention

Manuel Duran, the founder of Spanish-language news site Memphis Noticias, was arrested on April 3, 2018, while reporting on a protest against immigration detention in Memphis, Tennessee. Although the charges against Duran were dropped, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) transferred the reporter to a facility in Louisiana two days after his arrest.

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CPJ, RSF ask journalists to share information about border stops, device searches

U.S. administration has refused dialogue with press freedom groups New York, April 17, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) are joining to document challenges that journalists face entering or exiting the United States. The organizations are calling on reporters to share cases of extra screenings, invasive searches of electronic devices,…

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Marc and Debra Tice, the parents of Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, hold up photos of him during a press conference at the Press Club in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 20, 2017. (AP/Bilal Hussein)

A small thing you can do to help #FreeAustinTice

In August 2012, freelance journalist Austin Tice disappeared while reporting in Syria. A brief video made public a few weeks later showed Tice as a captive. He has not been heard from since.

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