Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

@rcfp.org

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The Reporters Committee provides free legal help to journalists and protects their First Amendment rights. (RCFP for short.) Find us at rcfp.org. ☎️ Legal Hotline: 800-336-4243 | hotline@rcfp.org ✉️ Sign up for our newsletters: rcfp.org/subscribe

The Reporters Committee's Gabe Rottman explains why the Justice Department's subpoenas against New York Times reporters threaten the public's right to know.
A quote from RCFP President Bruce D. Brown: “Donald Trump’s war on the press is looking for another victim, this time the storied federal prosecutors office in Manhattan. The subpoenas it issued to journalists at The New York Times break from longstanding Justice Department practice to protect the public interest and press independence by requiring prosecutors to only seek information from reporters as a last resort when all other avenues have been exhausted. When Jay Clayton appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, members of both parties must not let him escape accountability.”
A quote from RCFP Chairman Stephen J. Adler: “In the end, press freedom is about the rights of the public — to learn how their community and country are being run and to make informed decisions based on independent reporting. When the public’s right to know is crushed, as the Trump administration is trying to do with its subpoenas against The New York Times, all of us suffer irreparable harm, as does the freedom upon which this nation is built.”
The Reporters Committee's Grayson Clary explains why an unconstitutional no fly zone imposed by the federal government chilled newsgathering and how RCFP's free legal help allowed photojournalist Rob Levine to fight back.
A graphic for a Reporters Committee webinar with Marisa Kabas and Adam A. Marshall (with headshots) to discuss unearthing footage of the DOGE takeover of the US Institute of Peace.
A person is holding a newspaper titled "Marion County Record" with the main headline "Seized but not silenced." The image includes a logo for the DC/DOX Film Festival at the bottom, with the text "DCDOXFEST.COM | Washington, DC."
A promotional image for the film 'Seized' in which an individual is seated, holding a newspaper titled 'Marion County Record' with the headline 'Seized, but not silenced.' The image is overlaid with various positive reviews from well-known entities like The Wrap, The Guardian, Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today, praising the storytelling and impact of the film.
RCFP interviews Alex Gibney and Sam Pollard on the red carpet of the 2026 Emmys on the importance of legal help to impactful journalism.
A video interview with Stephanie Ruhle and Mariana van Zeller on the red carpet of the 2026 Emmys discussing press freedom.
A text graphic that reads "We're hiring! We work to advance press freedom. Come work with us!" with the Reporters Committee logo.
Left, text denoting that the Reporters Committee has won Freedom House's 2026 Edward R. Murrow Guardian of Democracy Award; right, the Reporters Committee logo with blue text on a white background.
Left: A large crowd protests with signs; right, information for a webinar on journalist safety in the US on May 19 via Zoom.
Screenshot of text reading: 'World Press Freedom Day was on May 3 and I offered some thoughts to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on why the FBI’s January seizure of a Washington Post reporter’s devices in a raid on her home was so alarming for press freedom. The story includes this from me: “Source protection is at the heart of investigative and a lot of other reporting. We have to be able to tell sources, ‘You’re safe with me.’” But this unprecedented raid sends the opposite message. Hannah Natanson, the reporter I’m talking about, was a key contributor to the Washington Post’s reporting on DOGE that won the Pulitzer’s highest honor on Monday, the award for public service. That was great to see. By the way, readers, RCFP is a great nonprofit organization and is always worthy of your charitable dollars. It offers expert legal help to journalists, including those in small newsrooms or freelancers who work without the help of house counsel.'
RCFP's Jen Nelson sits at her desk and discusses best practices for protecting communications with confidential sources.
A black and white text graphic with a quote from a journalist: 'This is a systematic attempt to crack down on the flow of information.'
White text reading The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on a blue background.
Andrew Coffman: 'Mississippi journalists are working every day to bring information to our communities, and in a growing number of cases, they need legal backing to fulfill that mission. I'm looking forward to being a resource for journalists and news organizations across the state to help them access public records and meetings, push back on legal challenges, and produce even more deeply reported stories that shed light on important issues and hold government accountable.'
Headshot for Andrew Coffman, RCFP's Local Legal Initiative attorney in Mississippi.
Rotating images of a tote bag, fan, notebook, pocket square, and phone wallet with a First Amendment text design.
CNN's Jake Tapper discusses press freedom and a new First Amendment merch collection benefitting RCFP on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Rotating images of a tote bag, fan, notebook, pocket square, and phone wallet with a First Amendment text design.
A quote from Virginia Hamrick: 'I’m delighted to join the Reporters Committee to help ensure that Louisiana journalists and news organizations have free, accessible legal support when they need it, and feel empowered to pursue vital investigative and accountability reporting. When local journalists face hurdles accessing public records, are shut out of government meetings, or are targeted with legal threats for their reporting, it's ultimately our communities that lose out on information about important issues.'
A headshot of Virginia Hamrick announcing her role as RCFP's Local Legal Initiative attorney for Louisiana.
A "We're hiring!" graphic for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
(L-R) Heather Murray, Adam Tragone and Paula Knudsen Burke at a Sunshine Week event at Point Park University’s Center for Media Innovation in Pittsburgh.
A quote from RCFP's Gabe Rottman: 'In a careful opinion, the court affirmed that our security and liberty rely on the press's freedom to publish and the public's ability to access news about government affairs free from state control. The Pentagon's policy cannot be squared with the Constitution and, especially at this moment, threatens to deny the electorate crucial information about the military.'
A stylized U.S. Capitol dome rises out of a file folder with the sun behind it; beside it, text reads: 'Sunshine Week March 15-21, 2026'
A federal agent patrols the halls of immigration court. Sourced from PennLive.
A blue graphic with headshots of two Reporters Committee attorneys: On left, the Local Legal Initiative Attorney for Louisiana Virginia Hamrick; on right, the Local Legal Initiative Attorney for Mississippi Andrew Coffman.
A quote from Reporters Committee attorney Eric Feder: 'We’re thrilled to welcome Virginia and Andrew to the Reporters Committee, and to build upon our previous work in these four states with dedicated, on-the-ground support. With each new attorney we add to the Local Legal Initiative, the journalists and newsrooms we serve get stronger and the journalism they produce gets bolder. That’s a huge win for the communities that rely on their reporting to stay informed.'
A dark graphic with white text for NICAR26 in Indianapolis, with checkered racing flags.
Graphic for Student Press Freedom Day 2026 with a comic image of a hand grabbing a pen; underneath text reads 'We stand with student journalists. They serve an essential role in their communities, even as censorship, intimidation, and legal threats escalate.'
A quote graphic from the Reporters Committee's Gabe Rottman: 'The court had a choice between carefully protecting a reporter’s confidential sources and simply letting the government rifle through Natanson’s devices. It made the right call — and the constitutionally appropriate one — by taking it upon itself to review the material and in ordering that information unrelated to the underlying investigation will be returned to Natanson. The judge was also clearly frustrated by the government’s failure to disclose the protections due Natanson under the Privacy Protection Act, an omission that may cloud this case going forward.'
Graphic for Student Press Freedom Day 2026 with a comic image of a hand grabbing a pen; underneath text reads 'We're a proud 2026 partner of Student Press Freedom Day!'
A quote from the Reporters Committee's Gabe Rottman: “The court was clearly frustrated by the government’s failure to disclose in the warrant application a federal law that is meant to severely restrict searches of journalists. When given the chance to explain, prosecutors didn’t offer a credible response. Given what the court heard today, we hope that it will promptly return the seized devices and ensure that newsgathering material is appropriately protected.”
A black and blue graphic for Knight Media Forum 2026.
A graphic promoting a journalist safety training from the US Journalist Assistance Network on 2/10 at 12pm ET. On the left, a drawn picture of a person typing on a computer.
Tanvi Valsangikar: When lawyers are involved at the pre-publication stage, they can help identify potential risks, suggest alternative approaches, and think through the content early on. That kind of support gives filmmakers the confidence to move forward with their work. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that important journalism reaches the public.
A blue graphic advocating for sign-ups to RCFP's monthly newsletter, with the email displayed on a smartphone.
A quote from RCFP's Gabe Rottman: “In its affidavit, the government did not reference the federal law that prohibits, with few exceptions, raids targeting journalists or newsrooms to seize unpublished work. The government appears to have ignored a crucial press freedom guardrail in searching a journalist’s home and did not alert the magistrate judge to the law’s application in this case, let alone show how or if it had complied with the statute’s considerable protections.”
RCFP's Gabe Rottman: “It’s obviously concerning any time journalists are arrested in connection with their reporting. To our knowledge, it’s unprecedented for the Justice Department to deploy the federal laws it has previously cited in this case against journalistic activity. Historically, the limited number of cases that have been brought against a journalist documenting a protest on private property have been handled as trespass cases at the state level. Those charges are almost always dropped, or if the cases go to trial, the journalists typically prevail.”
A text graphic that reads "We're hiring! We work to advance press freedom. Come work with us!" with the Reporters Committee logo.
Text from an article reading: 'FOIA Wiki. This website, a collaborative effort that was spearheaded by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, is one of my favorite resources. Most entries contain a section on how to challenge exemptions or determinations, as well as case law citations.'
A quote from RCFP's Gabe Rottman: “This case is another line in the sand when it comes to a free press and it will be decided at a time when the public needs information about Pentagon priorities more than ever. Asking reporters who cover this beat to submit to arbitrary restrictions on their ability to ask questions of public officials is entirely at odds with the First Amendment.”
An envelope with a letter coming out of it with the Reporters Committee logo; next to that is text reading 'RCFP's monthly newsletter brings out latest work to protect press free freedom right to your inbox.' with a link to subscribe at rcfp.org/subscribe.
A red and white infographic with details on journalist safety trainings in February from ProJourn.
A by-the-numbers graphic displaying the Reporters Committee's 2025 work, including 120+ cases litigated, 4 new U.S. states joining the Local Legal Initiative, 700+ Legal Hotline queries handled, 30+ matters of pre-publication review, 2,600+ trainees, and 75+ friend-of-the-court briefs.
A white and blue text graphic announcing the Reporters Committee as a recipient of a grant from Glick Philanthropies.
A quote from RCFP's Gabe Rottman: “The Pentagon’s press access policy is unlawful because it gives government officials unchecked power over who gets a credential and who doesn’t, something the First Amendment prohibits. The public needs independent journalism and the reporters who deliver it back in the Pentagon at a time of heightened scrutiny of the department’s actions.”
A graphic that reads: This Giving Tuesday, support press freedom. Below are illustrations of a newspaper, megaphone, and a microphone.
A quote from Jennifer Nelson: “There is absolutely a chilling effect that is happening right now where we’re seeing an increase in threats of defamation lawsuits. ... Pre-publication review can provide [news outlets] really important advice on risk, and can help them get to a point where they feel more comfortable pursuing and publishing those important stories.”
A quote from Adam Marshall: It’s hard. It doesn’t always work out. And it is often a mind-numbing exercise dealing with government bureaucracy. But when you do succeed and you get records that allow for a transformational story to be brought to the public, it makes it all worth it.
A close-up of a person standing near a wall with sticky notes; below, text reads: JSX.news, a matchmaking service for the news industry.
Sarabeth Berman discusses John Thornton's legacy in revitalizing local news.
Left: A photo of reporters in a crowd. Right: Text promoting a webinar about safely reporting on immigration in the US.
A green and black graphic for the Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival displaying a satellite view of the East Coast of America at night.
A promotional graphic for Friends of the Free Press fundraiser featuring a screening of the documentary Bad Press.
Beth Soja discusses Brad Kutrow's dedication to journalists and newsrooms through his pro bono legal support.
A white and blue graphic indicating that the Reporters Committee is hiring.
A green and black graphic for the Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival displaying a satellite view of the East Coast of America at night.