Trump trials must be televised

View this email in your browser ([link removed])
Dear friend of press freedom,

Here are some of the most important stories we’re following from the U.S. and around the world. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please forward it to friends and family. If someone has forwarded you this newsletter, please subscribe here ([link removed]) .

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Austin.jpg ([link removed]) " by Larry D. Moore ([link removed]) is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 ([link removed]) .


** Incarcerated journalist calls out retaliation by prison officials
------------------------------------------------------------

Jeremy Busby, a journalist incarcerated in Texas, has been writing about ([link removed]) prison conditions there for years ([link removed]) . This week he wrote a guest column ([link removed]) for Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) about the retaliation he and other incarcerated journalists endure as a result of their work.

“Since prisoners are not rendered much in regard to autonomy and worldly possessions, the thought of losing what little you have to mean-spirited and unforgiving prison officials is enough to discourage any prisoner from speaking truth to power,” he explains.

Click here ([link removed]) to read more about the challenges facing journalists behind prison walls and what you can do to help.
Press battles camera bans in Trump trials

It should be a no-brainer to televise the criminal trials of a former president. But, in three of the four jurisdictions where Donald Trump faces trial, that’s far from the case.

Read FPF Deputy Director of Advocacy Caitlin Vogus’s discussion ([link removed]) of the status of efforts to bring transparency to each Trump trial and of pending legislation that could resolve the issue.

Request to sanction journalist underscores need for PRESS Act

A recent court filing calls for steep fines for contempt of court against journalist Catherine Herridge for refusing to burn her sources during a deposition, even though she’s only following the procedures the appellate court has said are necessary to appeal.

FPF’s Vogus told CNN that “many reporters facing the large and escalating sanctions [sought against Herridge] would be deterred from standing up to an unconstitutional order requiring them to reveal their confidential sources.” That’s why Congress needs to pass the PRESS Act ([link removed]) and put a stop to invasive subpoenas of journalists. Read the full story on CNN ([link removed]) and read more on our blog ([link removed]) about the dangers of requiring journalists to be held in contempt to appeal.

Arrested journalists gagged from reporting

Court records show that an Alabama journalist and publisher who were recently arrested ([link removed]) for constitutionally protected reporting on grand jury proceedings were also barred, as a term of their bail, from “communicating” about any criminal investigations.

“It’s hard to believe that officials honestly think the First Amendment entitles them to arrest journalists for reporting news and then censor them as a condition of release,” said FPF Director of Advocacy Seth Stern. “There’s a pattern here that indicates an intentional abuse of power to retaliate against the press.” Read more on our blog ([link removed]) .


** Press freedom in Gaza
------------------------------------------------------------

Journalists make up only a tiny fraction of the casualties of the war in Gaza. Their deaths are no more or less tragic than anyone else’s. But journalists can only tell the stories of all the others impacted by the war if they can report without fear of being targeted.

Here are some recent stories about the dire situation the press is facing as it attempts to cover the most deadly war for journalists in recent memory.
RSF video investigation into the death of Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah in Lebanon: the journalists' vehicle was explicitly targeted ([link removed])

Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war ([link removed].)
A deadly month for a press at war ([link removed])

‘We can’t take it’: Journalist breaks down on air reporting colleague’s death in Gaza ([link removed])

Satellite companies are restricting Gaza images ([link removed])

NYT Magazine writer resigns after signing anti-Israel letter violating company policy ([link removed])


** What we’re reading
------------------------------------------------------------

Resignation letter from police chief who raided Marion, Kan., newspaper: 'I do not want to defend my actions ([link removed]) . The former Marion, Kansas police chief’s resignation letter says he was "getting exhausted from the media pressure" that followed the illegal raid he orchestrated. Mission accomplished! Journalists should keep shaming press freedom violators out of office.
Calumet City drops citations against Daily Southtown reporter who called workers seeking comment ([link removed]) . Chicago suburb Calumet City issued a flurry of tickets to journalist Hank Sanders for asking officials too many questions. The city quickly dropped the citations after national media backlash, offering further proof that it works when journalists use their ink to fight back.

LA radio reporter gets $700K settlement after 2020 arrest ([link removed]) . Los Angeles reporter Josie Huang reached a $700,000 settlement after she was assaulted by sheriff's deputies in September 2020. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press called it “the largest award to an individual journalist whose rights were violated in connection with protest coverage in 2020."

Years of incarcerated journalist's reporting deleted by notorious prison telecom 'inadvertently' ([link removed]) . Securus Technologies says its mass deletion of an incarcerated journalist’s draft emails was accidental. Maybe so. But would Washington officials retain a contractor that accidentally lost years of their own emails? If not, they shouldn’t retain Securus either.

CNN’s new CEO addresses ‘unfortunate news’ of photojournalist present during Hamas attack on internal call ([link removed]) . It’s reckless of Netanyahu to accuse journalists of being “accomplices in crimes against humanity” and condemn entire news outlets over vague claims against freelancers. His words will surely be used to justify past and future violence against journalists.


** FPF Live: Bad Press
------------------------------------------------------------

Join us for a screening of the documentary film “Bad Press ([link removed]) ,” which follows Mvskoke Media, a news outlet based in the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, and its reporter Angel Ellis, as they fight against censorship and other threats to their newsgathering. The film premieres ([link removed]) at New York’s Firehouse Cinema on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Ellis and the film’s directors, Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler, moderated by FPF Executive Director Trevor Timm. Get your ticket here ([link removed]) .
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

============================================================
Copyright © 2023 Freedom of the Press Foundation, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:
Freedom of the Press Foundation
49 Flatbush Ave, #1017
Brooklyn, NY 11217
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.