Press freedom violations you may have missed

We wrote extensively last week about the Aug. 11 police raid in Marion, Kansas, that rightfully shocked the nation. It was a uniquely egregious assault on the press, and it might have actually killed someone. 

Unfortunately, while all eyes were on Kansas, other press freedom violations continued around the country. This week, we round up ten other ongoing violations of journalists’ rights that, unlike Marion, are not getting the coverage they deserve. 

The violations include an FBI raid on an independent journalist’s home in Tampa, Florida; a judge’s seizure of a North Carolina journalist’s notes and order barring her from reporting; and a SLAPP that’s threatening to put a Wisconsin nonprofit news outlet out of business. You can read more about these instances and the other seven we highlighted on our blog. 

We need journalists and others to call attention to these abuses of journalists and the press. Marion shows that the public wants to know when press freedom — and their right to know — is infringed. Ultimately, the authorities there backed down after a loud and sustained public outcry. Journalists elsewhere around the country need the media and the public to come to their defense as well. Freedom of the press depends on it.

Time for you to have a say on press freedom

After you read about these and other press freedom violations, you may be inspired to add your voice to those calling for the protection of journalism and press freedom. There are many ways to do this, whether reaching out to officials, posting on social media or making donations to a news outlet or your favorite press freedom organization. For people who are able to spend more time and have more to say, we often recommend writing op-eds or letters to the editor. 

Our new guide to press freedom op-eds shares concrete advice for people writing op-eds and letters to the editor in support of press freedom. The guide covers what your op-ed can accomplish; how to get papers interested; where, how, and when to pitch your op-ed; and guidelines for writing. Armed with this guide, you can provide the crucial public support that press freedom and journalists need.

Victims’ rights law shouldn’t shield police from scrutiny 

On our blog this week, we explore the troubling trend of police avoiding accountability by using “Marsy’s Law,” which allows crime victims to withhold their names from the public. Police around the country are arguing that Marsy’s Laws should shield the names of officers who claim to have been assaulted or otherwise victimized by people they ultimately arrested, shot, or worse.   

The latest examples are from Wisconsin and Ohio. In Wisconsin, the identity of a police officer who shot a suicidal man at the end of June has been withheld, even from court records, thanks to its Marsy’s Law. In Ohio, the Columbus police department is withholding the names of the officers involved in four separate fatal shootings in July and August, citing its Marsy’s Law. 

Protecting the rights of actual crime victims is important. But officers involved in altercations while on the job shouldn’t be considered “victims'' entitled to keep their information private. They also shouldn’t be permitted to use Marsy’s Laws to hide from public accountability and scrutiny. Withholding officers’ names makes it harder for journalists to report about police actions, and for the public to hold both individual officers and law enforcement institutions responsible for misconduct. 

What we’re reading

Tracking & Defending Press Freedom in the U.S. On this podcast, Kirstin McCudden and Seth Stern of Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) discuss the police raid of the Marion County Record and place it in the context of other threats to the press, documented by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. As Stern notes, we can’t afford to be complacent about press freedom in the United States, which this year dropped to 45th in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. We also discussed growing threats to press freedom with The Guardian.  

Trump’s Georgia arraignment expected to be televised, Fulton County judge says. We’ve long supported cameras in the courtroom. However, despite the immense public interest in the criminal trials of former President Donald Trump, so far it looks like only his Georgia trial has a chance of being televised. There’s no reason for federal courts to stubbornly stick to their long-standing ban on cameras in courts. Denying the public real-time access to these newsworthy trials will only foster an atmosphere of distrust and confusion. 

Julian Assange's brother says WikiLeaks founder could return to Australia as US Ambassador hints at plea deal. It’s beyond time to end the prosecution of Julian Assange. No matter what you think of Assange, prosecuting him under the Espionage Act for publishing information received from a source threatens all journalism in the United States. The Department of Justice should immediately drop this prosecution.