Join the SPJ International Community and the Washington DC SPJ chapter for an online discussion with Kirstin McCudden, Vice President of Editorial at Freedom of the Press Foundation and Managing Editor at US Press Freedom Tracker, about these and other threats to press freedom in the United States.
Monday, February 10 at 6pm ET
Register HERE.
Challenges to the independence of the news media, statements designed to warn off journalists from certain stories and outright physical threats are on the rise in the United States.
There were 314 incidents of violations of press freedom in the United States during 2024, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The actions ranged from the Kansas legislature banning reporting from the House floor to a Colorado reporter being choked outside his TV station to numerous search orders against news organizations.
Things are expected to look much better in 2025. Already Trump Administration officials have threatened increased investigations into leaks to the press; more criminal prosecution of journalists and stepped-up government surveillance of the press. A recent report from the Department of Justice Inspector General report detailed the illicit seizures of reporters records during 2020-2021.
Recent moves by the Pentagon have already taken back desk space used by long-time news organizations such as the New York Times and National Public Radio. The spaces were given to other non-traditional news groups, some of whom do not yet have a dedicated Pentagon correspondent.
The conversation facilitator will be Nerissa Young a professor of instruction in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and a 31-year member of the Society of Professional Journalists. She advises the 10-time national SPJ campus chapter of the year at Ohio University. Young teaches International Mass Media and Foreign Correspondence courses, among others. She previously taught journalism at Oklahoma State University, Shepherd University and Marshall University, where she earned her master’s degree in journalism.