Texas police detain, charge FOX 7 Austin journalist covering pro-Palestinian protest
New York, April 25, 2024 — Texas authorities should immediately drop all charges against a FOX 7 Austin journalist detained while covering a pro-Palestinian protest and take steps to ensure journalists can do their jobs safely and without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Law enforcement officers arrested a FOX 7 Austin photographer…
‘Part of the CPJ family’: Journalist, former hostage Terry Anderson dies at 76
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply saddened by the death of Terry Anderson, journalist and CPJ’s former vice chair and honorary chairman. Anderson, a former Associated Press journalist who was kidnapped and held hostage in Lebanon for six years, knew firsthand the threats that faced journalists seeking to report freely, and was an…
CPJ, others oppose the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act
The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with over 70 civil society organizations, signed a letter urging Senate leaders to oppose the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), H.R.7888, which would dramatically expand the government’s warrantless surveillance powers without providing adequate protections for journalists. Under an amendment adopted as part of RISAA, the government could, in…
U.S. journalist safety kit
Updated: January 14, 2025 Journalists and media workers reporting across the United States have faced increasing threats to their safety and profession over the past several years, including retaliatory violence, lawsuits, and attacks by police and protesters. Political polarization, the contested 2020 election, and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, combined with…
Why extradition of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange to US would be cataclysmic for press freedom
The Australian founder of the website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been fighting extradition to the U.S. from the U.K. since 2019 on charges that could strike a blow to press freedom globally. Here is CPJ’s briefing on the legal battle to extradite Assange, the charges he would face in the U.S., and why his prosecution…
New York police arrest, charge journalist Reed Dunlea during protest against Israel
Washington, D.C., February 14, 2024—New York City law enforcement should immediately drop all charges against freelance journalist Reed Dunlea and take steps to ensure that reporters are not detained while covering protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. Dunlea was collecting audio for his podcast, Scene Report, at a February 10 protest in…
Alabama publisher, reporter arrested, charged with disclosing leaked information
Washington, D.C., October 31, 2023—Authorities in Escambia County, Alabama, should immediately drop all charges against Atmore News publisher Sherry Digmon and reporter Don Fletcher and thoroughly investigate the motives behind their arrests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Police arrested Digmon and Fletcher on October 27 on charges of disclosing leaked information, according to…
Mahoney: Biden’s Saudi policy stymies quest for Khashoggi justice
From pariah to potential partner. That’s how far Saudi Arabia has come for President Joe Biden in the five years since Riyadh sent a death squad to butcher journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The administration’s ongoing rehabilitation of the petrodollar kingdom and its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, seems to…
CPJ joins group calling for explanation of FBI raid linked to Tucker Carlson interview
The FBI used a search warrant to raid the home of freelance journalist Tim Burke on May 8, 2023, in Tampa, Fla., seizing most of his electronic devices, after Burke obtained outtakes of a 2022 Fox News interview by Tucker Carlson with the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. The Committee to Protect Journalists signed on…