CPJ calls on Trump to improve press freedom in US
CPJ writes the White House about actions by the Trump administration that threaten news media and impede the free flow of information on issues of great public interest. We cite specifically regular statements that delegitimize the role of the press; retaliation against journalists for critical coverage; prosecutions that equate leaking classified documents to the press with espionage; the harassment of journalists at U.S. borders; and limitations on access to information.
Trump’s White House blasts VOA for ‘promoting propaganda’
Washington D.C., April 10, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists today said it is appalled by an official White House statement yesterday accusing Voice of America (VOA), the U.S. Congress-funded international broadcaster, of “speak[ing] for America’s adversaries” and promoting Chinese propaganda on the COVID-19 pandemic.
CPJ, 57 news organizations ask Senate to rethink press restrictions during impeachment
The Committee to Protect Journalists and at 57 other news organizations yesterday sent a letter to Senate authorities asking them to reconsider press restrictions during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
In the UK, ‘Megxit’ and Downing Street briefing change put focus on press access
Journalists and press associations in the United Kingdom this week debated issues of access and what constitutes “credible media,” as royal correspondents scrutinized the fall out from “Megxit”—the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s plan to step back from royal duties and the pool system of news coverage—and the Society of Editors raised concerns with Prime…
Joint letter urges congressional action on Jamal Khashoggi case
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 10 human rights and press freedom groups in sending a letter to House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) leadership urging congressional action in the pursuit of justice for murdered Washington Post columnist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi.
Leak prosecutions under Trump chill national security beat
When President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, William Barr, was asked at his confirmation hearing in January whether he would ever consider jailing a journalist, Barr paused for about eight seconds, then said he could “conceive of a situation” where a journalist is jailed as a “last resort.” Such equivocation was troubling to press…
White House setting wrong example at Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi
Washington, D.C., February 27, 2019–The White House today barred four journalists from covering a dinner in Hanoi between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, citing “sensitivities over shouted questions,” according to news reports. The unusual move came a day after Vietnamese officials relocated the White House press corps filing center from…
CPJ concerned about journalists’ safety at Trump’s rallies
New York, February 12, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about the safety of journalists covering President Donald Trump’s political rallies after a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) camera operator, Ron Skeans, was assaulted during a rally in El Paso, Texas, last night.
From fake news to enemy of the people: An anatomy of Trump’s tweets
Since announcing his candidacy in the 2016 presidential elections to the end of his second year in office, U.S. President Donald Trump has sent 1,339 tweets about the media that were critical, insinuating, condemning, or threatening. In lieu of formal appearances as president, Trump has tweeted over 5,400 times to his more than 55.8 million…