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{
"title": "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene targets press as DOGE subcommittee chair",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rep-marjorie-taylor-greene-targets-press-as-doge-subcommittee-chair/",
"first_published_at": "2025-04-03T15:55:52.395275Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-05-02T16:21:58.218495Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-05-02T16:21:58.104649Z",
"date": "2025-03-26",
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"city": "Washington",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"80pcs\">From the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican member of Congress from Georgia, has joined Trump in taking steps to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered him and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting her efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"48klo\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"aaurn\"><i>This article was first published on Jan. 20, 2025.</i></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"5ie7j\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p>\r\n<div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#March 26\">March 26, 2025 | U.S. representative leads heated subcommittee hearing attacking NPR, PBS</a> \r\n<p><a href=\"#Feb 3\">Feb. 3, 2025 | U.S. representative summons NPR, PBS to oversight hearing</a>\r\n<p><a href=\"#Jan 20\">Jan. 20, 2025 | U.S. representative threatens PBS funding</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"80pcs\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"cee66\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Mach 26\" name=\"March 26\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"80pcs\">March 26, 2025 | U.S. representative leads heated subcommittee hearing attacking NPR, PBS</h4><p data-block-key=\"dm69l\">Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene led a hearing titled “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the heads of NPR and PBS accountable” on March 26, 2025, at which she questioned the chief executives of the two news outlets.</p><p data-block-key=\"ci71p\">“At the DOGE Subcommittee, we are continuing our war on waste. That means rooting out spending that is unnecessary, wasteful and — frankly — un-American,” Greene said during her <a href=\"https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/anti-american-airwaves-holding-the-heads-of-npr-and-pbs-accountable/\">opening remarks</a>. “NPR and PBS have increasingly become radical, left-wing echo chambers for a narrow audience of mostly wealthy, white, urban liberals and progressives who generally look down on and judge rural America.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9roao\">Greene went on to accuse NPR of having a “communist agenda” and PBS of being “one of the founders of the trans child abuse industry.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b4atu\">NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger defended their organizations’ programming and the importance of public media during the more than two-hour-long hearing, rejecting the accusation that they pander to liberal audiences.</p><p data-block-key=\"8q66b\">Rep. Stephen Lynch voiced his support for public media and castigated the hearing, saying, “For over two decades of service on this oversight committee, I’ve worked with members on both sides of the aisle to investigate issues of critical importance to the safety and security of the American people.</p><p data-block-key=\"7n705\">“So I’m sad to see that this once-proud committee — the principal investigative committee in the House of Representatives — has now stooped to the lowest levels of partisanship and political theater.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3b5k3\">In her closing statements, Greene announced that the subcommittee intends to call for the dissolution of the government-backed Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides around 1% of NPR’s budget and 16% of that of PBS.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vqum\">“I think from what we have heard here today, the American people will not continue to allow such propaganda to be funded through the federal government with their hard-earned tax dollars,” Greene said. “We believe that you all can hate us on your own dime.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6di2h\">Rep. Ronny Jackson plans to introduce a bill on March 27 to pull all government funding from NPR and PBS, Fox News <a href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/politics/exclusive-gop-moves-defund-chronically-biased-npr-pbs-after-disastrous-hearing\">reported</a>. Jackson introduced a <a href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/1632/text\">similar bill</a> in 2023, but it didn’t make it out of committee.</p><p data-block-key=\"1mtmf\"><a href=\"https://cpb.org/faq#1-2\">According to CPB</a>, the majority of the approximately $500 million it is appropriated each year is distributed to local broadcast and radio stations. Funding for the nonprofit corporation was <a href=\"https://cpb.org/pressroom/CPB-Statement-Congress-Approval-Continued-Funding-Public-Media\">extended</a> on March 14, with the House and Senate approving $535 million for 2027.</p><p data-block-key=\"712i3\">“Public media in the United States is a highly efficient public-private partnership that delivers a strong return on the taxpayers’ investment,” CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement at the time. “With the support of Congress and the American people, CPB will continue to prioritize educational content and resources for families, provide essential local reporting and public safety information, and pursue technology advancements that enhance public media’s connection with audiences across multiple platforms.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"Feb 3\" name=\"Feb 3\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"80pcs\">Feb. 3, 2025 | U.S. representative summons NPR, PBS to oversight hearing</h4><p data-block-key=\"5t813\">Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sent letters to the CEOs of public broadcasters <a href=\"https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Letter-to-Maher-NPR-020325.pdf\">NPR</a> and <a href=\"https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Letter-to-Paula-Kerger_PBS.-020325.pdf\">PBS</a> on Feb. 3, 2025, summoning them to testify in March before the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency.</p><p data-block-key=\"8esen\">The letters both said that the subcommittee is concerned about the outlets’ “blatantly ideological and partisan coverage” and seeks to better understand their “position on providing Americans with accurate information.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eoji\">Greene specifically cited <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VfYjPzj1Xw\">PBS reporting on Elon Musk</a> making “what appeared to be a fascist salute” during the official post-inauguration celebration on Jan. 20, as well as NPR’s decision not to report on Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"11fel\">The news outlets’ reporting, Greene wrote, “should serve the entire public, not just a narrow slice of like-minded individuals and ideological interest groups.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f81o2\">NPR said in a <a href=\"https://www.vpm.org/npr-news/npr-news/2025-02-03/npr-statement-on-letter-from-subcommittee-on-doge\">statement</a> that it strives to hold itself to the highest standards of journalism, citing its publicly available standards and ethics guidelines, and the presence of a public editor.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ev6j\">“We welcome the opportunity to discuss the critical role of public media in delivering impartial, fact-based news and reporting to the American public,” the statement said.</p><p data-block-key=\"21ml6\">PBS did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"Jan 20\" name=\"Jan 20\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"80pcs\">Jan. 20, 2025 | U.S. representative threatens PBS funding</h4><p data-block-key=\"4e32m\">Just hours after Donald Trump’s swearing-in on Jan. 20, 2025, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene <a href=\"https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1881479200672215171\">took to social media</a> to attack PBS News for <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VfYjPzj1Xw\">reporting</a> that Trump appointee Elon Musk gave “what appeared to be a fascist salute” while speaking at the official <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/capital-one-arena-takes-centre-stage-trumps-inauguration-2025-01-20/\">post-inauguration celebration</a> in Washington, D.C.</p><p data-block-key=\"29kvb\">“As the Chairwoman of the Oversight Subcommittee on DOGE (Department of Government Oversight), I look forward to PBS @NewsHour coming before my committee and explaining why lying and spreading propaganda to serve the Democrat party and attack Republicans is a good use of taxpayer funds,” Greene posted. “We will be in touch soon.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7ukeq\">Congress provides indirect grant support to PBS, as well as NPR, through funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, <a href=\"https://cpb.org/aboutcpb/financials/budget\">appropriating $535 million</a> for 2025. Trump’s first administration <a href=\"https://deadline.com/2020/02/donald-trump-public-media-pbs-npr-1202856498/\">proposed</a> eliminating all federal funding for PBS, and Trump made <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/28/trump-npr-pbs-funding-cut\">similar calls</a> on social media in the lead-up to the 2024 election.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"j0f37\">Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene holds a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in June 2021.</p>",
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{
"title": "Palestinian American journalist questioned, phone searched at NJ airport",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/palestinian-american-journalist-questioned-phone-searched-at-nj-airport/",
"first_published_at": "2025-05-08T16:07:32.150889Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-05-08T16:35:30.404754Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-05-08T16:35:30.309788Z",
"date": "2025-03-24",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hnl7e\">Freelance journalist Hebh Jamal was flagged for additional security screening, questioned about her work and had her cellphone searched upon arriving at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport on March 24, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"8q88l\">Jamal, a Palestinian American reporter and documentarian who holds a U.S. passport, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she also advocates for Palestinian rights in Germany, where she lives with her family. She said that while this was far from her first experience with additional screening, it was the first time it was at the hands of U.S. authorities.</p><p data-block-key=\"61aam\">“My husband and myself, we’re both advocates. We were put on a list by the border police here in Germany, so that whenever we travel at the airport, we get secondary screening automatically,” Jamal said. “But it was never Interpol, it was never communication with the Americans. So I would travel from Germany and then, in the U.S., I wouldn’t have any issues.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2rlli\">She said she was flying from Frankfurt with her husband and two children to visit family in the United States, and wasn’t surprised when they were directed to additional screening. It was unusual, however, that the German border authorities questioned whether they planned to engage in any pro-Palestinian speech.</p><p data-block-key=\"3obts\">After they arrived at their gate, they were also approached by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents who checked her husband’s visa, took photos of each page of his German passport, and asked him about where he had lived in Gaza and about his family there.</p><p data-block-key=\"3v9mq\">Upon their arrival in Newark, Jamal said both she and her husband were flagged for secondary screening and were taken to separate rooms by border officials.</p><p data-block-key=\"a13ka\">“At first they were very nice. They were like, ‘Yeah, you know, this is just routine,” she told the Tracker. “They asked me all sorts of questions about where I traveled, asking me a whole bunch of Middle Eastern countries that I’ve been to and if I’d been there.</p><p data-block-key=\"s008\">“And then they saw the Rafah border stamp.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4he37\">Jamal said she had traveled to the southern Gaza city bordering Egypt in 2022 to visit family. The officers asked her about who she met and why, whether anyone she encountered was affiliated with Hamas, if she had felt unsafe and if anyone from her family was part of the government in Gaza.</p><p data-block-key=\"9hbin\">Afterward, Jamal said they began questioning her about her journalism and the last article she had written, which she noted was about detained pro-Palestinian activist <a href=\"https://mondoweiss.net/2025/03/mahmoud-khalil-is-a-palestinian-political-prisoner-and-he-is-not-the-first-in-the-u-s/\">Mahmoud Khalil</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"21n70\">“I know that they already knew I was a journalist because they told my husband, ‘We know your wife is a journalist and we know that you guys are, like, active,’” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"4cns5\">Officers also asked for her phone number, email and social media handles before letting her go, Jamal said. They quickly called her back, however, and demanded that she hand over her cellphone and write down her password.</p><p data-block-key=\"2hn89\">“They said, ‘We need your phone.’ And I said, ‘What happens if I don’t give it to you?’ And they said, ‘No, you have to or we’ll take it by force,’” she told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"7orm8\">Jamal said she ultimately complied, noting that she had been aware that U.S. agents might ask for her devices so she had not traveled with a laptop and had factory reset her phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"7imhg\">The questioning lasted approximately 20 minutes, Jamal said, but the secondary screening as a whole took around an hour and a half.</p><p data-block-key=\"1r60v\">Her husband was also questioned and his cellphone searched, but she said officers subtly threatened him, warning him not to engage in any sort of political activity.</p><p data-block-key=\"7aud7\">Jamal said she waited until she left the United States to make the incident public, and has been in touch with Amnesty International to determine whether any spyware was installed on her phone. However, she told the Tracker she’s unsure whether she’ll take any further steps.</p><p data-block-key=\"eqhfo\">“I feel that if I really push about it — outside of just talking on social media — it’s just going to get sort of worse for me,” Jamal said.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ehut\">In an <a href=\"https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/5/5/fear-and-intimidation-at-newark-airport\">op-ed for Al Jazeera</a> about the experience, Jamal wrote that the screening was targeted and intended to intimidate them.</p><p data-block-key=\"fdff5\">“Whether it is in Germany, in the US, or elsewhere, the goal of these tactics is the same: to make us feel small, isolated, criminalised, and afraid,” she wrote. “They want us to doubt the worth of every word we write, to question every protest we join, to swallow every truth before it reaches our lips.”</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"eaig9\">Palestinian American journalist Hebh Jamal was questioned about her reporting and travel, and had her cellphone searched when arriving on March 24, 2025, at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, shown above in May.</p>",
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{
"title": "Minnesota reporter blocked from entering public school board meeting",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/minnesota-reporter-blocked-from-entering-public-school-board-meeting/",
"first_published_at": "2025-03-19T13:25:40.559806Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0fqr9\">Clint Combs, a freelance reporter for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, was restricted from entering a Minneapolis Board of Education assembly room to cover a board meeting on March 11, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"diktk\">Combs told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he first arrived an hour and a half before the start of the meeting at the Davis Center in Minneapolis, where the school district’s administration is headquartered. He said there was no media sign-up sheet available when he first arrived, and he then went to cover demonstrations against school district budget cuts that were taking place outside the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvo1u\">When Combs returned around an hour later, he said he initially went to an overflow room to cover the meeting, because the main room was “packed” and he assumed there wasn’t space for him. A source texted him, however, and said media were being allowed into the main assembly room.</p><p data-block-key=\"5hc60\">But when Combs went to the front desk, a man he assumed was security told him there was only one press spot left and asked for his press pass, which Combs had lost the previous week.</p><p data-block-key=\"c0t5b\">“I offered to provide my driver’s license and relevant byline and also said I would call my editors for verification,” Combs said. While they were speaking, two broadcast reporters walked past and were granted access while he was still being denied entry.</p><p data-block-key=\"99pot\">“This was concerning because it seemed that my lack of a press credential badge was the only reason I was denied access, despite the fact that there were available slots for other press,” the journalist said.</p><p data-block-key=\"77s7k\">“The situation is particularly frustrating because it makes it harder for journalists like me to engage with the speakers, many of whom were addressing important workplace issues at the board meeting,” Combs added.</p><p data-block-key=\"ck4rh\">When reached by email for comment, Alicia Miller, senior human resources officer for Minneapolis Public Schools, told the Tracker that she had previously been unaware that Combs attempted to attend or was denied access to the March 11 meeting. Miller reconfirmed this in a later email.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2932\">Several weeks before the denial of access, the Spokesman-Recorder had been asked to bar Combs from reporting on Miller after he published a critical Feb. 20 article involving her. The article was <a href=\"https://spokesman-recorder.com/2025/03/28/alleged-retaliation-minneapolis-public-schools/\">subsequently retracted</a> by the Spokesman-Recorder. Miller affirmed that she had asked for a retraction and an apology for what she said were errors in Combs’ reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"3b0lf\">Regarding the meeting, Donnie Belcher, the executive director of communications and engagement for Minneapolis Public Schools, told the Tracker in an email: “The room was filled to capacity so no one was allowed access after a certain point, but had we known that Mr. Combs (or any journalist) needed access, a staff person could have come out to escort him in.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4osas\">Belcher added that press are required to sign in at meetings, and that “we have a special seating area for press within the assembly room where our board meetings take place.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7fp8v\">Combs noted that “restricting access to the main room has a chilling effect that prevents journalists from asking public speakers follow-up questions.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bdgb0\">He added, “It would have been helpful if MPS had a designated RSVP press email or process to address these concerns ahead of time.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ejcza\"><i>Editor's Note: This report has been updated to reflect that the Spokesman-Recorder subsequently retracted its Feb. 20 article on Alicia Miller, and to include additional comment from Miller. </i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"d1tz6\">Demonstrators protest budget cuts outside a meeting of the Minneapolis, Minnesota, Board of Education on March 11, 2025. Clint Combs, a reporter for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, was denied access to the meeting’s press area.</p>",
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{
"title": "White House wrests control of presidential press pool from correspondents",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-wrests-control-of-presidential-press-pool-from-correspondents/",
"first_published_at": "2025-02-25T21:32:07.254909Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-05-13T15:55:27.280273Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mltlx\">In a break with more than a century of practice, the White House Correspondents’ Association will no longer control the press pool covering the president, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced during a news briefing on Feb. 25, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"e9gs7\">The pool — a 13-member group of reporters and photojournalists who travel with and cover the president’s daily activities — has <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/business/media/trump-white-house-press.html\">traditionally</a> been overseen by the WHCA to ensure that access isn’t limited to those covering the sitting administration favorably.</p><p data-block-key=\"6mgn6\">Leavitt’s announcement came amid a legal fight between The Associated Press and the White House over <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ap-reporters-barred-from-white-house-events-over-editorial-style-policy/\">the news agency’s exclusion</a> since Feb. 11 from events on Air Force One, in the Oval Office and other pool-only areas in retaliation for its editorial policy on referring to the Gulf of Mexico.</p><p data-block-key=\"fl8jd\">Reporters and photojournalists for the AP have historically been included in the White House pool rotation, and the WHCA filed a <a href=\"https://whca.press/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/WHCA-Amicus-Brief-AP-Case.pdf\">brief</a> in support of the AP’s case Feb. 23.</p><p data-block-key=\"90g0q\">Leavitt <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl-_9pOiAl0\">announced during the Feb. 25 briefing</a> that her team will take over assigning the pool, stating that “For decades a group of DC-based journalists — the White House Correspondents Association — has dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the President of the United States in these most intimate spaces. Not anymore.</p><p data-block-key=\"fi6cq\">“We want more outlets and new outlets to have a chance to take part in the ‘press pool’ to cover this administration’s unprecedented achievements up close, front and center,” Leavitt continued, noting that asking the president questions is a privilege and “awesome responsibility.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A group of DC-based journalists, the White House Correspondents' Association, has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the President of the United States.<br><br>Not anymore.<br><br>Today, I was proud to announce that we are giving the power back to the people.<br><br>Moving… <a href=\"https://t.co/PkNui6Qleu\">pic.twitter.com/PkNui6Qleu</a></p>— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1894470524857614825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 25, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mltlx\">She emphasized that the rotations of broadcast, print and radio journalists would continue, but would include streaming services, local radio hosts and print outlets that are “committed” to covering the White House.</p><p data-block-key=\"3nlo7\">The WHCA warned against the press freedom implications of the move and pushed back against Leavitt’s justification for the change in a <a href=\"https://x.com/stevethomma/status/1894472674765635622\">statement</a> on the social platform X.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ob3\">“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president,” WHCA President Eugene Daniels said. “In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ft0lm\">The organization also noted that it has worked to keep pace with the evolving media environment while ensuring “consistent professional standards and fairness in access.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5ccr8\">The decision was criticized by <a href=\"https://x.com/tamarakeithNPR/status/1894480196310634722\">multiple</a> <a href=\"https://x.com/JacquiHeinrich/status/1894476539825459580\">White</a> <a href=\"https://x.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1894473214480253082\">House</a> <a href=\"https://x.com/KellyO\">correspondents</a>. Peter Baker, chief White House reporter for The New York Times, <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/peterbakernyt.bsky.social/post/3lizk4tmcjk2d\">wrote</a>, “Having served as a Moscow correspondent in the early days of Putin’s reign, this reminds me of how the Kremlin took over its own press pool and made sure that only compliant journalists were given access.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5qg1a\">Late that evening, reporters from HuffPost and Reuters were removed from the Feb. 26 press pool list, HuffPost <a href=\"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white-house-kicks-out-huffpost-reporter-from-press-pool_n_67be9224e4b0d509934aa224?ncid=APPLENEWS00001\">reported</a>. A reporter from Axios replaced the HuffPost reporter as the print pool representative, and the spots typically reserved for Reuters and the AP were allotted to Newsmax and Blaze Media, two conservative news outlets.</p><p data-block-key=\"1j6o9\">Reuters, the AP and Bloomberg News issued a <a href=\"https://x.com/ReutersPR/status/1894780094654124294\">joint statemen</a>t against the move as the “three permanent wires in the White House pool.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6aetd\">“Much of the White House coverage people see in their local news outlets, wherever they are in the world, comes from the wires,” the outlets’ editors said. “It is essential in a democracy for the public to have access to news about their government from an independent, free press. We believe that any steps by the government to limit the number of wire services with access to the President threatens that principle.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b3rrg\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include details about the White House changing the roster for the pool of journalists set to follow the president on Feb. 26, 2025, as well as a statement from the three wire services historically in the pool.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"3qhm4\">White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt takes questions during a news briefing in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25, 2025. Leavitt announced that the administration — not the White House Correspondents’ Association — will organize press pool rotations.</p>",
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"(2025-04-15 00:00:00+00:00) White House cuts permanent wire position from press pool",
"(2025-04-08 16:01:00+00:00) White House censors two reports from pool reporters",
"(2025-05-12 11:46:00+00:00) White House excludes wire services from Middle East trip"
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"Donald Trump"
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"Federal government: White House"
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{
"title": "Chicago reporter ‘booted’ from community meeting by city councilman’s staff",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/chicago-reporter-booted-from-community-meeting-by-city-councilmans-staff/",
"first_published_at": "2025-03-04T21:39:52.950650Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-04T21:39:52.950650Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-04T21:14:56.027702Z",
"date": "2025-02-20",
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"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ieju3\">Reporter Francia Garcia Hernandez said she was told by a local official’s chief of staff to leave a community meeting in Chicago, Illinois, on Feb. 20, 2025, although two other reporters remained. The staffer disputed the account.</p><p data-block-key=\"fdqn\">The community meeting was held at a public school in the Pilsen neighborhood to discuss the controversial reopening of a local bar that had been temporarily closed by police after a fatal shooting outside, Garcia <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/02/21/city-allows-pilsen-bar-to-reopen-after-deadly-shootout-outside-frustrating-neighbors/\">reported</a> for Block Club Chicago.</p><p data-block-key=\"ajov8\">Pilsen residents had <a href=\"https://www.change.org/p/shut-down-caminos-de-michoacan-bar-for-community-safety\">called</a> for the bar to be permanently closed after the shooting, citing “increasing violence” associated with the business.</p><p data-block-key=\"8pl8v\">Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez, who represents the ward that includes Pilsen, had advertised the meeting as public, and a flyer about it had been widely distributed by residents on social media, Garcia noted in a subsequent <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/02/25/aldermans-office-kicks-reporter-out-of-meeting-on-controversial-bar-reopening/\">report</a> about the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"68cso\">“Neighbors shared the public meeting notice and invited me to come to the Thursday meeting,” Garcia reported, “saying they wanted to ensure their concerns about the bar would be heard and other neighbors who couldn’t attend would be able to learn what happened.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b936o\">Garcia wrote that she was greeted by Sigcho Lopez after she arrived. But 20 minutes into the meeting, once the attendees had begun to express concerns about the bar reopening, Garcia was told to leave by Sigcho Lopez’s chief of staff, Lucia Calderon (referred to as Lucia Moya in Garcia’s report).</p><p data-block-key=\"fgfjn\">Calderon said that the ward office hadn’t secured permission from Chicago Public Schools for reporters to attend and that the meeting was only for neighbors within a four-block radius of the bar.</p><p data-block-key=\"i4be\">“I asserted my First Amendment rights to report, but left because of the police presence in the room, and because I didn’t want to interrupt neighbors’ testimonies,” Garcia wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"coakj\">Garcia added that reporters from Telemundo and Univision remained in the room, though their camera operators were asked to stay outside.</p><p data-block-key=\"o1cg\">Calderon told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she had previously informed those reporters the event was closed to media and asserted she hadn’t known they were there. “If there were other members of the media in the room, they did not identify themselves and they did not violate the rules on photography and videography,” she added.</p><p data-block-key=\"ch0gv\">After the incident, Sigcho Lopez, who later referred to coverage as “irresponsible,” also said that the meeting was private, with no media allowed per Chicago Public Schools policy, reported Garcia. He did not specify which policy he was referring to.</p><p data-block-key=\"62u0b\">Garcia told the Tracker that she has previously attended and reported on several community meetings at public schools in the ward. Garcia also wrote that Calderon subsequently acknowledged “the language around the notification” — which called the meeting “public” — gave the impression the meeting was open to everyone.</p><p data-block-key=\"cs7mc\">Calderon, who later posted a lengthy Instagram <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DGg8Rkyv6EW/?igsh=azVueHhnbGIxNmJr\">response</a> to Garcia’s article about the incident, told the Tracker that “we did not clear media attendance at this event on public school property,” and that Garcia had “alarmed” attendees by taking photos with flash at the meeting, when Calderon said none was allowed.</p><p data-block-key=\"61s4k\">Calderon said she approached Garcia to say the meeting was closed and added, “Following a brief conversation, Francia offered to leave and Calderon accepted that. At no time was Francia asked to leave or ‘removed from the event’ by any person, official, or worker.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cj2o8\">Garcia said that she had not encountered previous access issues with Sigcho Lopez’s office. She said that her outlet had covered previous violent incidents around the bar and neighbors’ response to them, but could not confirm if her expulsion was linked to that coverage.</p><p data-block-key=\"aul06\">“As a neighborhood beat reporter, participating in a meeting about a public issue is critical to understanding neighbors’ perspectives,” Garcia said. “This was the first time the bar owner held a dialogue with neighbors and addressed them, but excluding me from the conversation barred me from observing this conversation and its outcomes.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP21202717502908_1.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7307n\">Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez of Chicago, Illinois, in 2021. Reporter Francia Garcia Hernandez said she was told by Sigcho Lopez’s chief of staff to leave a community meeting on Feb. 21, 2025.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
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"Francia Garcia Hernandez (Block Club Chicago)"
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{
"title": "Mississippi newspaper ordered to remove editorial critical of city officials",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/mississippi-newspaper-ordered-to-remove-op-ed-critical-of-city-officials/",
"first_published_at": "2025-02-19T19:10:22.457708Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T21:10:28.028362Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T21:10:27.915745Z",
"date": "2025-02-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Jackson",
"longitude": -90.18481,
"latitude": 32.29876,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7035h\">The Clarksdale Press Register was ordered to remove an editorial from its website and other online portals on Feb. 18, 2025, after the city of Clarksdale, Mississippi, alleged the article was defamatory.</p><p data-block-key=\"32vko\">The editorial, headlined “Secrecy, deception erode public trust” — <a href=\"https://www.pressregister.com/editorial-secrecy-deception-erode-public-trust\">pulled from the site</a> but <a href=\"https://archive.ph/PqZdk\">archived here</a> — was published on Feb. 8, and detailed how the mayor’s office had failed to properly notify the public of a special meeting held four days prior.</p><p data-block-key=\"4m612\">“Mayor Chuck Espy has always touted how ‘open’ and ‘transparent’ he is and he is ‘not like previous administrations of the past 30 years,’” the editorial said. While notice of the meeting was posted on the door of City Hall, it continued, “This newspaper was never notified. We know of no other media organization that was notified.”</p><p data-block-key=\"371rv\">In an <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social/post/3lik2e6qatk2n\">affidavit</a>, the city clerk admitted that she had not emailed the media a notice announcing the meeting, as <a href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-25/chapter-41/section-25-41-13/\">required by state law</a>. Floyd Ingram, publisher and editor of the Press Register, approached her after the meeting to ask about its subject, and she said that she gave him a copy of the notice, an agenda, a resolution passed during the meeting and other materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"4o7k6\">Chancery Court Judge Crystal Wise Martin granted the city’s motion for a temporary restraining order without allowing the newspaper to argue against it, ruling that the Press Register must unpublish the article.</p><p data-block-key=\"bpe9j\">“The injury in this case is defamation against public figures through actual malice in reckless disregard of the truth,” Wise Martin <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=614309898244735&set=pcb.614311151577943\">wrote in her order</a>, “and interferes with their legitimate function to advocate for legislation they believe would help their municipality during this current legislative cycle.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6qui0\">The city praised the ruling in a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/cityofclarksdale/posts/pfbid02FG8CQQJ13vKgQFE1iHk8afcKxtA5MpkzX9JrBAEwGWqjoFP8Mta2pKnN6WmsKPqSl\">post</a> to its official Facebook page.</p><p data-block-key=\"f12v0\">“The judge ruled in our favor that a newspaper cannot tell a malicious lie and not be held liable,” Mayor Espy said. “The only thing that I ask, that no matter what you print, just let it be the truth; be it good or bad.”</p><p data-block-key=\"evcju\">City Attorney Melvin Miller II added: “The City touts this as a victory for truth. Not even newspapers can imply lies against City officials conducting city business and get away with it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"96g0t\">First Amendment advocates, however, criticized the decision. Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement that an order compelling a newspaper to take down an editorial critical of the government was blatantly unconstitutional.</p><p data-block-key=\"6qq9l\">“The underlying lawsuit here appears frivolous for any number of reasons,” Stern said. “But even in constitutionally permissible defamation lawsuits, it’s been well-established law for decades that the remedy for plaintiffs is monetary damages, not censorship orders.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dk72e\">Adam Steinbaugh, a First Amendment lawyer at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, also <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social/post/3lik2rm5ubs2n\">noted</a> that the Supreme Court ruled in New York Times v. Sullivan that governments can’t sue for libel.</p><p data-block-key=\"eioo5\">The editorial was removed from the Press Register website on the morning of Feb. 19. The newspaper did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"d89t2\">A full hearing on granting a permanent injunction is scheduled for Feb. 27.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"yleih\">A portion of the Feb. 18, 2025, order placing a prior restraint on The Clarksdale Press Register and requiring the newspaper to remove an editorial about the city of Clarksdale, Mississippi, from its online portals.</p>",
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"name": "Mississippi",
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"(2025-02-26 17:05:00+00:00) Mississippi court lifts order requiring newspaper to unpublish editorial"
],
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{
"title": "Karoline Leavitt targets media as White House press secretary",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/karoline-leavitt-targets-media-as-white-house-press-secretary/",
"first_published_at": "2025-04-03T16:36:57.410824Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-05-02T16:23:47.487744Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-05-02T16:23:47.378415Z",
"date": "2025-02-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tcb5d\">From the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, has joined Trump in taking steps to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered him and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting her efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"83pgh\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ekssr\"><i>This article was first published on Jan. 28, 2025.</i></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"2mtnm\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p>\r\n<div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#Feb 12\">Feb. 12, 2025 | White House defends AP ban, claims news agency is pushing ‘lies’</a>\r\n<p><a href=\"#Jan 28\">Jan. 28, 2025 | Press secretary echoes media lie accusations</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tcb5d\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"22hd2\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Feb 12\" name=\"Feb 12\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"tcb5d\">Feb. 12, 2025 | White House defends AP ban, claims news agency is pushing ‘lies’</h4><p data-block-key=\"3d05h\">White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the barring of reporters for The Associated Press from multiple events at the White House during a news briefing on Feb. 12, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"43hv1\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/katie_robertson/status/1889739177169670148/photo/1\">letter</a> objecting to the decision, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace wrote that Leavitt had warned the newsroom that its reporters would not be allowed to attend White House events if it didn’t align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.</p><p data-block-key=\"9b41e\">AP reporters were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ap-reporters-barred-from-white-house-events-over-editorial-style-policy/\">barred from attending</a> at least four events between Feb. 11 and 13; it was unclear whether AP reporters would also be excluded from subsequent White House events.</p><p data-block-key=\"hecu\">“The actions taken by the White House were plainly intended to punish the AP for the content of its speech,” Pace wrote. “It is among the most basic tenets of the First Amendment that the government cannot retaliate against the public or the press for what they say. This is viewpoint discrimination based on a news organization’s editorial choices and a clear violation of the First Amendment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"135uv\">During a news briefing on Feb. 12, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/12/politics/video/collins-wh-briefing-ap-reporter-digvid\">asked</a> whether the decision to exclude the AP was “setting a precedent that this White House will retaliate against reporters who don’t use the language that you guys believe reporters should use.”</p><p data-block-key=\"12koa\">Leavitt replied: “I was very upfront in my briefing on Day 1 that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable. And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America. And I am not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that but that is what it is.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2aj4l\">The White House Correspondents’ Association quickly condemned the move, <a href=\"https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5141155-karoline-leavitt-ap-oval-office-gulf-of-america/\">according to The Hill</a>. “The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize working journalists because it is unhappy with their editors’ decisions,” the WHCA said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"Jan 28\" name=\"Jan 28\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"tcb5d\">Jan. 28, 2025 | Press secretary echoes media lie accusations</h4><p data-block-key=\"6b3d3\">While President Donald Trump, in <a href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-freedom-of-speech-and-ending-federal-censorship/\">one of his first executive orders</a>, extolled the importance of “restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship,” an attitude of hostility toward the press was perpetuated by the White House itself.</p><p data-block-key=\"87dts\">Karoline Leavitt, in her <a href=\"https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/white-house-daily-briefing/655038\">first briefing</a> as press secretary Jan. 28, 2025, pushed Trump’s allegations that outlets had deliberately lied in order to hurt his campaign and administration.</p><p data-block-key=\"7apbm\">“We know for a fact that there have been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this president, about his family, and we will not accept that. We will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong, or there is misinformation about this White House,” Leavitt said. “So yes, I will hold myself to the truth and I expect everyone in this room to do the same.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6sv6u\">Leavitt also told reporters, “All of you once again have access to the most transparent and accessible president in American history.” But in what appears to be a snub to mainstream media, hard passes and access to the briefing room will also be extended to members of the “new media” — who Leavitt described as “independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers and content creators” — as long as they are producing “legitimate news content.”</p><p data-block-key=\"di8r8\">Leavitt did not respond directly to a question about how often she will be giving news briefings, which Trump <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-stops-regular-press-briefings-citing-unfair-media-treatment/\">halted</a> during the second half of his first term, citing unfair media treatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"9166n\">“The president is the best spokesperson that this White House has,” Leavitt said, “and I can assure you that you will be hearing from both him and me as much as possible.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP25028719314192.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"w7wy5\">White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks at the first press briefing of the new Trump administration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28, 2025.</p>",
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"name": "District of Columbia",
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"Media",
"The Associated Press"
],
"tags": [
"Donald Trump"
],
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"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
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{
"title": "AP reporters barred from White House events over editorial style policy",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ap-reporters-barred-from-white-house-events-over-editorial-style-policy/",
"first_published_at": "2025-02-12T21:12:06.702804Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-06-18T13:30:43.926141Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-06-18T13:30:43.615254Z",
"date": "2025-02-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9jjvk\">Two reporters for The Associated Press were prevented from attending events at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 11, 2025, in retaliation for the wire service’s editorial policy to continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico despite its renaming by the administration, AP <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-ap-journalism-first-amendment-8a83d8b506053249598e807f8e91e1ae\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"693ha\">Julie Pace, AP’s senior vice president and executive editor, said in a <a href=\"https://www.ap.org/the-definitive-source/announcements/ap-statement-on-oval-office-access/\">statement</a> that the denials happened after the newsroom received a warning, later said to have come from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.</p><p data-block-key=\"a7vqq\">“Today we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office,” Pace wrote. “This afternoon AP’s reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3du8p\">While an AP photographer was allowed into the Oval Office for the event, AP reported that a second reporter was also barred from a separate event in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room later that evening.</p><p data-block-key=\"enq2p\">Pace condemned the denials in a <a href=\"https://x.com/katie_robertson/status/1889739177169670148/photo/1\">letter</a> to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Feb. 12.</p><p data-block-key=\"6jq27\">“The actions taken by the White House were plainly intended to punish the AP for the content of its speech,” Pace wrote. “It is among the most basic tenets of the First Amendment that the government cannot retaliate against the public or the press for what they say. This is viewpoint discrimination based on a news organization’s editorial choices and a clear violation of the First Amendment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"36nch\">AP’s <a href=\"https://www.ap.org/the-definitive-source/announcements/ap-style-guidance-on-gulf-of-mexico-mount-mckinley/\">style guidance</a> on the name change, issued Jan. 23, advises that the Gulf of Mexico has held that name for more than 400 years and the news service must ensure that place names are recognizable to a global audience. “The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen,” the guidance reads.</p><p data-block-key=\"708f\">The AP Stylebook is used not only by the news agency and its reporters in over 200 locations worldwide but by journalists and other writers nationally and globally. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was not able to confirm whether journalists from any other news outlets who also follow AP’s guidance were similarly barred.</p><p data-block-key=\"43eb9\">CNN reporter Brian Stelter <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/brianstelter.bsky.social/post/3lhz2mtd2oc2r\">reported</a> that an AP reporter assigned to the media pool was again blocked from entering the Oval Office for Tulsi Gabbard’s swearing-in as director of national intelligence on Feb. 12.</p><p data-block-key=\"5r7ao\">Leavitt defended the decision to exclude the wire service when questioned about it during a news briefing that afternoon, <a href=\"https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5141155-karoline-leavitt-ap-oval-office-gulf-of-america/\">according to The Hill</a>, adding that it is a “privilege to cover the White House.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4e80j\">“If we feel there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable,” Leavitt said. “And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that but that is what it is.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3mhqa\">The AP did not respond to a request for further comment. In her letter to Wiles, Pace wrote that it is unclear whether AP reporters will continue to be excluded from future White House events and she urged the administration not to do so.</p><p data-block-key=\"g2ue\">“When journalists are blocked from doing their job, it is the American public who suffers,” Pace wrote. “The AP is prepared to vigorously defend its constitutional rights and protest the infringement on the public’s right to independent news coverage of their government and elected officials.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6qgc0\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include details about a third White House event that AP reporters were prevented from attending, as well as comments from Karoline Leavitt during a news briefing on Feb. 12, 2025.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP25042751897564.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"93ah8\">Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, both at right, spoke to reporters in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 11, 2025. An Associated Press reporter was excluded in retaliation for the wire service’s policy on the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:25-cv-00532",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": null,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2025-02-14 17:26:00+00:00) AP journalists indefinitely barred from Oval Office, Air Force One",
"(2025-02-21 17:05:00+00:00) The Associated Press sues Trump officials over access ban",
"(2025-04-15 00:00:00+00:00) White House spikes permanent press pool slot for wire services",
"(2025-04-08 17:14:00+00:00) The Associated Press wins court order over access to White House",
"(2025-06-06 13:36:00+00:00) Appeals court reinstates part of White House ban on AP"
],
"case_statuses": [
"ongoing"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"The Associated Press"
],
"tags": [
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"Federal government: White House"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": [
"Government event"
]
},
{
"title": "Boston TV station turns over interview recordings, notes ahead of murder trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/boston-tv-station-turns-over-interview-recordings-notes-ahead-of-murder-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2025-03-28T17:13:58.354207Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-28T17:13:58.354207Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-28T17:13:58.194801Z",
"date": "2025-02-07",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Dedham",
"longitude": -71.16616,
"latitude": 42.24177,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vve76\">Broadcast station WFXT, a Fox News affiliate in Boston, was subpoenaed by prosecutors on Feb. 7, 2025, for interview recordings and notes in connection with a murder trial in Dedham, Massachusetts.</p><p data-block-key=\"58f0b\">A judge upheld the request later that month and the outlet turned over the materials in March, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"38abk\">According to the prosecutors’ request, WFXT began advertising Feb. 6 about “the biggest interview of the year”: a sit-down with its reporter Ted Daniels and Karen Read, who <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/03/28/nx-s1-5343433/karen-read-second-murder-trial\">stands accused</a> of the murder of her boyfriend in a case that has captured national attention. The interview aired Feb. 9.</p><p data-block-key=\"825cv\">After the case against Read ended in a mistrial in July 2024, prosecutors issued multiple subpoenas to news outlets and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-ordered-to-turn-over-notes-communications-around-murder-trial/\">journalists</a> ahead of the April 2025 retrial. Massachusetts does not have a formally recognized reporter’s shield law protecting journalists from being forced to disclose newsgathering materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"cte3k\">Prosecutors had <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/boston-tv-station-complies-with-order-for-interview-recordings-notes\">succeeded in subpoenaing</a> the broadcast station in 2024, with Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone ordering WFXT to produce copies of all recordings and notes from interviews with Read’s parents and brother.</p><p data-block-key=\"228u8\">In their February 2025 request, prosecutors asked Cannone to order the production of all recordings and notes from interviews with Karen Read, including those that were never aired.</p><p data-block-key=\"4m5t7\">“The defendant has repeatedly used the media to promote her position,” prosecutors wrote. “The defendant and her counsel cannot avail themselves of a media strategy to publicize and promote the defendant’s varying claims to the public at large and the potential jury pool while simultaneously excising statements and admissions that may not be favorable to her cause.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d9138\">Cannone granted the request on Feb. 19, ordering WFXT to produce the materials by March 1. According to court filings, the station complied and turned over the files on March 3.</p><p data-block-key=\"ak8uh\">WFXT did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/WFXT-TV_2025_subpoena.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"72nag\">A portion of Massachusetts prosecutors’ Feb. 7, 2025, motion to force WFXT to turn over recordings and notes from interviews with Karen Read ahead of Read’s retrial on murder charges. A judge upheld the request and WFXT turned over the records on March 3.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"actor": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "State",
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"state": {
"name": "Massachusetts",
"abbreviation": "MA"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"WFXT"
],
"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
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},
{
"title": "More than 75 Lee Enterprises newspapers affected by cyberattack",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/more-than-75-lee-enterprises-newspapers-affected-by-cyberattack/",
"first_published_at": "2025-02-12T17:19:23.205195Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-04T21:44:50.694408Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-04T21:44:50.589276Z",
"date": "2025-02-03",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Davenport",
"longitude": -90.57764,
"latitude": 41.52364,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oif3d\">Dozens of newspapers owned by Iowa-based news media company Lee Enterprises were affected by a cyberattack starting on Feb. 3, 2025, disrupting the publication of print and e-editions.</p><p data-block-key=\"9smah\">The St. Louis Post-Dispatch — one of Lee Enterprises’ more than 400 daily, weekly and specialty newspapers across 24 states — <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-post-dispatch-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_a76e69be-e5ae-11ef-b904-474af5328760.html\">reported</a> that the media conglomerate had experienced a “cybersecurity event.” The company alerted its newspapers that it had been working with third-party specialists to investigate the disruption and restore the systems.</p><p data-block-key=\"e5rdr\">“We are now focused on determining what information — if any — may have been affected by the situation,” Lee Enterprises CEO Kevin Mowbray wrote. “We are working to complete this investigation as quickly and thoroughly as possible, but these types of investigations are complex and time-consuming, with many taking several weeks or longer to complete.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fd7ln\">According to the Post-Dispatch, the targeting of the company’s computers prevented many newspapers from building pages and publishing print editions. The Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina <a href=\"https://journalnow.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-winston-salem-journal-lee-enterprises-greensboro-attack/article_7c5ab88a-e5c3-11ef-8583-6ff0c409859f.html\">reported</a> that some subscribers could not access their accounts.</p><p data-block-key=\"66u3p\">At least 79 newspapers reported disruptions to their operations. Many published delayed or smaller editions while others were unable to publish entirely.</p><p data-block-key=\"acvij\">The Sentinel in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, <a href=\"https://cumberlink.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-lee-enterprises/article_8d167d2f-477f-5940-ac90-741e85aafe69.html\">reported</a> that the cyberattack affected phone lines and internet at its office, forcing staff to work remotely. Carrier Sidener, executive editor of The News & Advance in Lynchburg, Virginia, <a href=\"https://newsadvance.com/news/local/cyber-attack-newspaper-lynchburg/article_5fab1816-e658-11ef-8e89-a71266caf132.html\">wrote</a> on Feb. 9 that the attack also disabled her newsroom’s phone system.</p><p data-block-key=\"eg47b\">As of Feb. 12, Lee newspapers continued to have banners on their websites that read: “We are currently undergoing maintenance on some services, which may temporarily affect access to subscription accounts and the e-edition. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve the issues.”</p><p data-block-key=\"79u90\">According to the Winston-Salem Journal, CEO Mowbray told the newspapers that the company is working to find ways to prevent something similar from happening again but did not say when the issues would be resolved.</p><p data-block-key=\"blvpa\">Mowbray also thanked employees “for your above-and-beyond efforts to continue reporting the news and maintaining our operations under challenging circumstances.”</p><p data-block-key=\"94oq3\">The full list of outlets confirmed to have been affected, listed alphabetically by state:</p><ul><li data-block-key=\"2iabl\"><b>Arizona</b> — <a href=\"https://tucson.com/news/local/arizona-daily-star-lee-enterprises-system-production-problems-cyberattack/article_8d580b3c-e5ba-11ef-a1fe-3f41c68580b0.html\">The Arizona Daily Star</a></li><li data-block-key=\"4juul\"><b>Illinois</b> — <a href=\"https://herald-review.com/news/local/herald-review-parent-company-victim-of-cybersecurity-event/article_23b01a68-e5d7-11ef-b3a0-975ffcf122e6.html\">Herald & Review</a>, <a href=\"https://jg-tc.com/news/local/jg-tc-parent-company-victim-of-cybersecurity-event/article_bddbbcc2-e5d8-11ef-898e-67db9e7672aa.html\">Journal Gazette & Times-Courier</a>, <a href=\"https://pantagraph.com/news/local/pantagraph-parent-company-victim-of-cybersecurity-event/article_282847e8-1dd0-5163-a40e-4b3e1f52ce89.html\">The Pantagraph</a>, <a href=\"https://pantagraph.com/community/wcj/news/lee-falls-victim-to-cyber-attack/article_e80f5244-e725-11ef-8f6d-b31482ce2e8b.html\">Woodford County Journal</a></li><li data-block-key=\"2b2jn\"><b>Iowa</b> — <a href=\"https://dbrnews.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-hits-denison-bulletin-review-other-lee-news-outlets-causing-disruptions/article_5431284a-e801-11ef-bb5d-9f05001b2a10.html\">Bulletin-Review</a>, <a href=\"https://nonpareilonline.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-lee-enterprises-nonpareil-council-bluffs/article_19436a9e-e5cd-11ef-b2e2-abb41b527aa2.html\">The Daily Nonpareil</a>, <a href=\"https://qconline.com/news/local/business/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-quad-city-times-other-lee-enterprises-papers/article_0ada1d46-42bd-5ce8-ba8c-405b0a7824b3.html\">The Dispatch & The Rock Island Argus</a>, <a href=\"https://globegazette.com/news/local/lee-enterprises-cybersecurity-event/article_23f58a0c-d595-57f7-ad90-cfd8fcd3b5ce.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_globegazette\">Globe Gazette</a>, <a href=\"https://qctimes.com/news/local/business/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-quad-city-times-other-lee-enterprises-papers/article_b480c86a-3c50-5abe-affb-7ebe7390ba2f.html\">Quad-City Times</a>, <a href=\"https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/sioux-city-journal-lee-enterprises-cybersecurity/article_7dc1957e-e666-11ef-aaee-cf5b4fd7fdcc.html\">Sioux City Journal</a>, <a href=\"https://valleynewstoday.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-hits-southwest-iowa-herald-other-lee-news-outlets-causing-disruptions/article_bb702629-31d5-5849-8f02-5dfab3bc484b.html\">Southwest Iowa Herald</a>, <a href=\"https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/lee-enterprises-cybersecurity-event/article_c068345b-776a-5e6f-98d5-d7fa3ce43a4d.html?mode=nowapp\">The Courier</a></li><li data-block-key=\"83jpr\"><b>Minnesota</b> — <a href=\"https://winonadailynews.com/news/local/business/cybersecurity-event-shuts-down-systems-at-newspaper/article_ccec1b44-e5b5-11ef-9643-e7c1626c853f.html\">Winona Daily News</a></li><li data-block-key=\"d3eiu\"><b>Missouri</b> — <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-post-dispatch-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_a76e69be-e5ae-11ef-b904-474af5328760.html\">The St. Louis Post-Dispatch</a></li><li data-block-key=\"e26bq\"><b>Montana</b> — <a href=\"https://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_6e19fb12-e5bb-11ef-9bf6-7fcff18cc3db.html\">Billings Gazette</a>, <a href=\"https://helenair.com/news/local/cybersecutiry-lee-enterprises/article_4ed0ec1c-e5ba-11ef-91ea-536d0632a696.html\">Independent Record</a>, <a href=\"https://missoulian.com/news/local/cybersecurity-lee-enterprises/article_1329b714-e5bc-11ef-9de0-237f71ce065f.html\">Missoulian</a>, <a href=\"https://mtstandard.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-montana-standard-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_6e55e3d8-e5bc-11ef-ba7c-87d1796a0366.html\">Montana Standard</a>, <a href=\"https://ravallirepublic.com/news/local/lee-enterprises-cybersecurity/article_208f4aee-e5bd-11ef-9ef0-7f1bb60fd053.html\">Ravalli Republic</a></li><li data-block-key=\"43rbm\"><b>Nebraska</b> — <a href=\"https://columbustelegram.com/news/community/banner-press/printed-newspaper-delayed-read-the-latest-stories-from-the-david-city-banner-press/article_aa39050e-e4ab-11ef-b657-6b486ecbb4a9.html\">The Banner-Press</a>, <a href=\"https://beatricedailysun.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-daily-sun-and-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_9c880719-4a30-5831-b361-9f65dbc8218c.html\">Beatrice Daily Sun</a>, <a href=\"https://columbustelegram.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-lee-enterprises-columbus-telegram/article_946a32c8-e5cf-11ef-9f48-e73b5ea991a3.html\">The Columbus Telegram</a>, <a href=\"https://fremonttribune.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-lee-enterprises-fremont-tribune/article_fd6c24e4-e5ce-11ef-9972-1b5f9a0c32b7.html\">Fremont Tribune</a>, <a href=\"https://theindependent.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-hits-lee-news-outlets-causing-disruptions/article_9c7ba96a-e58d-5b4f-bf99-b765ca36df2c.html\">The Grand Island Independent</a>, <a href=\"https://lexch.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-clipper-herald-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_5f8c8e72-e5cd-11ef-9b00-ff3000eff3e9.html\">Lexington Clipper-Herald</a>, <a href=\"https://journalstar.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-impacting-journal-star/article_3bd60ffa-e5b7-11ef-a655-3bbb587661e4.html\">Lincoln Journal Star</a>, <a href=\"https://nptelegraph.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-the-north-platte-telegraph-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_9fb98468-f51b-55ef-abd6-5fb1a8e48b1b.html\">The North Platte Telegraph</a>, <a href=\"https://omaha.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-hits-the-world-herald-other-lee-news-outlets-causing-disruptions/article_dfb5b6e2-e5b8-11ef-9d33-937080c09b6f.html\">Omaha World-Herald</a>, <a href=\"https://columbustelegram.com/news/community/schuyler/cybersecurity-event-hits-schuyler-sun-other-lee-news-outlets-causing-disruptions/article_dae487e0-e81c-11ef-8c2a-cbc493448b18.html\">Schuyler Sun</a>, <a href=\"https://starherald.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-star-herald-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_a96f1ab1-12c2-51be-8767-9d5172a685fd.html\">Star-Herald</a></li><li data-block-key=\"ejco2\"><b>Nevada</b> — <a href=\"https://elkodaily.com/news/local/crime-courts/publisher-of-elko-daily-free-press-struck-by-cybersecurity-event/article_bf19777e-e5f5-11ef-b2e8-2f1ee2d48766.html\">Elko Daily Free Press</a></li><li data-block-key=\"9mvhl\"><b>New Jersey</b> — <a href=\"https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/business/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-the-press-of-atlantic-city-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_ea76ea3a-4e33-530c-bc7a-e7601fdde2a8.html\">The Press of Atlantic City</a></li><li data-block-key=\"avvo2\"><b>New York</b> — <a href=\"https://buffalonews.com/news/local/buffalo-new-cybersecurity-event-lee-enterprises/article_6dc5e704-e5b4-11ef-b07f-db0b5c918647.html\">The Buffalo News</a>, <a href=\"https://auburnpub.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-the-citizen-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_84a16e08-f1ff-53d9-825b-0e198649eeaa.html\">The Citizen</a>, <a href=\"https://poststar.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-the-post-star-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_abe7c072-4cd3-5756-a381-a513601ebdae.html\">The Post-Star</a></li><li data-block-key=\"f4i0o\"><b>North Carolina</b> — <a href=\"https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-lee-enterprises-hickory-morganton-statesville-attack/article_2cdfaab4-e5db-11ef-8a1c-3be8667b462d.html\">Hickory Daily Record</a>, <a href=\"https://mcdowellnews.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-lee-enterprises-hickory-morganton-statesville-attack/article_9e228ac4-e5dc-11ef-9498-0b90c9463753.html\">The McDowell News</a>, <a href=\"https://greensboro.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-winston-salem-journal-lee-enterprises-greensboro-attack/article_e5e38e56-e5d9-11ef-b300-e77c69bf7b17.html\">News & Record</a>, <a href=\"https://morganton.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-lee-enterprises-hickory-morganton-statesville-attack/article_980c1708-e5dd-11ef-985f-afd14b166501.html\">The News Herald</a>, <a href=\"https://statesville.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-lee-enterprises-hickory-morganton-statesville-attack/article_209350d8-e5dd-11ef-905e-3b6beaa10a84.html\">Statesville Record and Landmark</a>, <a href=\"https://journalnow.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-winston-salem-journal-lee-enterprises-greensboro-attack/article_7c5ab88a-e5c3-11ef-8583-6ff0c409859f.html\">Winston-Salem Journal</a></li><li data-block-key=\"hug0\"><b>North Dakota</b> — <a href=\"https://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-regional/business/the-bismarck-tribune-lee-enterprises-cybersecurity-event-attack/article_3d31cffc-86b1-59d5-8f67-ff45aa5f2853.html\">The Bismarck Tribune</a>, <a href=\"https://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-regional/business/the-bismarck-tribune-lee-enterprises-cybersecurity-event-attack/article_3d31cffc-86b1-59d5-8f67-ff45aa5f2853.html\">The Morton County and Mandan News</a></li><li data-block-key=\"1fhd8\"><b>Oklahoma</b> — <a href=\"https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-tulsa-world-other-lee-enterprises-sites/article_436bbb16-e5bc-11ef-9238-17e82078267a.html\">Tulsa World</a></li><li data-block-key=\"6huof\"><b>Pennsylvania</b> — <a href=\"https://cumberlink.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-lee-enterprises/article_8d167d2f-477f-5940-ac90-741e85aafe69.html\">The Sentinel</a></li><li data-block-key=\"fq1rv\"><b>Oregon</b> — <a href=\"https://democratherald.com/news/local/business/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-dh-gt/article_22c0e127-795c-5707-abd8-d59c5d7e6d2e.html\">Albany Democrat-Herald</a>, <a href=\"https://gazettetimes.com/news/local/business/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-dh-gt/article_95d21b40-916b-5972-9acd-24dbe4d3913f.html\">Corvallis Gazette-Times</a></li><li data-block-key=\"e9tdm\"><b>South Carolina</b> — <a href=\"https://scnow.com/news/local/business/florence-hartsville-marion-mullins/article_853293e1-c814-5965-b5d7-74e52b0e7034.html\">The Morning News</a>, <a href=\"https://thetandd.com/news/local/business/orangeburg-lee-enterprises/article_db694f31-9b11-534a-8134-f5a54aa97992.html\">The Times and Democrat</a></li><li data-block-key=\"1vudd\"><b>South Dakota</b> — <a href=\"https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/community/chadron/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-chadron-record-other-lee-enterprises-sites/article_0bb807e4-e7c2-11ef-bdbf-bb92a738def5.html\">The Chadron Record</a>, <a href=\"https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/crime-courts/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-rapid-city-journal-other-lee-enterprises-sites/article_1ea78c1c-e5ba-11ef-bd3f-6f465548cb7f.html\">Rapid City Journal</a></li><li data-block-key=\"2lvg4\"><b>Texas</b> — <a href=\"https://theeagle.com/news/local/lee-enterprises-cybersecurity-incident-texas-newspapers-bcs-waco/article_bcb63e7c-e68b-11ef-8459-97229e01eed6.html\">The Eagle</a>, <a href=\"https://wacotrib.com/news/local/lee-enterprises-cybersecurity-incident-texas-newspapers-waco-bcs/article_411c5954-e5b9-11ef-8846-676a79f09146.html\">Waco Tribune-Herald</a></li><li data-block-key=\"eei83\"><b>Virginia</b> — <a href=\"https://newsadvance.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-the-news-advance-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_92617506-e5b9-11ef-ad05-fb9943692893.html\">Amherst New Era-Progress</a>, <a href=\"https://heraldcourier.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-herald-courier-other-lee-newspapers/article_da7b1f32-eb07-5c82-b24c-310fa8103c3b.html\">Bristol Herald Courier</a>, <a href=\"https://starexponent.com/news/local/richmond-times-dispatch-lee-enterprises-cybersecurity/article_5b925beb-c3a5-586d-a0ce-23032ef7f2d7.html\">Culpeper Star-Exponent</a>, <a href=\"https://newsvirginian.com/news/local/business/news-virginian-parent-company-victim-of-cybersecurity-event/article_0afb0ebf-116f-5895-aea6-2b7df249b5f3.html\">The Daily Progress</a>, <a href=\"https://godanriver.com/news/state-and-regional/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-register-bee-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_d77f0f1a-e5c1-11ef-a98f-3fdad49454f2.html\">Danville Register & Bee</a>, <a href=\"https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-free-lance-star-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_86af767c-e659-11ef-a552-cff28de1d43f.html\">The Free Lance-Star</a>, <a href=\"https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/business/daily-progress-parent-company-victim-of-cybersecurity-event/article_ed3270d4-e5b9-11ef-aebb-1f36f175e8e4.html\">Madison County Eagle</a>, <a href=\"https://martinsvillebulletin.com/news/local/business/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-martinsville-bulletin-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_a3c1360d-119d-50d4-be2e-e296930981c9.html\">Martinsville Bulletin</a>, <a href=\"https://newsadvance.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-the-news-advance-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_92617506-e5b9-11ef-ad05-fb9943692893.html\">Nelson County Times</a>, <a href=\"https://newsadvance.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-disrupts-operations-at-the-news-advance-other-lee-enterprises-newspapers/article_92617506-e5b9-11ef-ad05-fb9943692893.html\">The News & Advance</a>, <a href=\"https://newsvirginian.com/no-print-newspaper-saturday-read-the-latest-from-the-news-virginian/article_e5a96b44-e5d0-11ef-a504-03301748b674.html\">The News Virginian</a>, <a href=\"https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/business/daily-progress-parent-company-victim-of-cybersecurity-event/article_ed3270d4-e5b9-11ef-aebb-1f36f175e8e4.html\">Orange County Review</a>, <a href=\"https://richmond.com/news/local/business/richmond-times-dispatch-lee-enterprises-cybersecurity/article_4785c59c-e5b3-11ef-801d-738bf629668d.html\">Richmond Times-Dispatch</a>, <a href=\"https://roanoke.com/news/local/business/article_de0070a4-7065-5f47-bcec-da83e6d6b755.html\">The Roanoke Times</a>, <a href=\"https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/business/daily-progress-parent-company-victim-of-cybersecurity-event/article_ed3270d4-e5b9-11ef-aebb-1f36f175e8e4.html\">Rural Virginian</a></li><li data-block-key=\"826p0\"><b>Washington</b> — <a href=\"https://tdn.com/news/local/longview-wa-newspaper-late-delivery/article_ad3d0a94-e64e-11ef-9573-17360d591ea3.html\">The Daily News</a></li><li data-block-key=\"fhfi7\"><b>Wisconsin</b> — <a href=\"https://wiscnews.com/life-entertainment/local/art-theater/no-printed-newspapers-today-heres-the-latest-from-baraboo-portage-and-beaver-dam/article_f7d5a65c-e41d-11ef-ada8-4b2b73c003e7.html\">Baraboo News Republic</a>, <a href=\"https://chippewa.com/news/local/business/cybersecurity-event-shuts-down-systems-at-newspaper/article_68b2ed82-e5b6-11ef-a71d-8b85adb13f3f.html\">The Chippewa Herald</a>, <a href=\"https://wiscnews.com/life-entertainment/local/art-theater/no-printed-newspapers-today-heres-the-latest-from-baraboo-portage-and-beaver-dam/article_f7d5a65c-e41d-11ef-ada8-4b2b73c003e7.html\">Daily Citizen</a>, <a href=\"https://journaltimes.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-shuts-down-systems-jt/article_17f65110-e631-11ef-adb0-ef2f5f2ba146.html\">The Journal Times</a>, <a href=\"https://wiscnews.com/news/state-regional/lee-enterprises-cybersecurity-event/article_fafeef65-4e8b-555f-900a-641eea13d186.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_Juneau_County_Star-Times\">Juneau County Star-Times</a>, <a href=\"https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/cybersecurity-event-shuts-down-systems-kn/article_a309bb28-e633-11ef-9da3-db959264cbeb.html\">Kenosha News</a>, <a href=\"https://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/business/cybersecurity-event-shuts-down-systems-at-newspaper/article_06fc74d8-e5b5-11ef-a7f6-27a45e198ea6.html\">La Crosse Tribune</a>, <a href=\"https://madison.com/news/local/article_4fb619d8-e5b3-11ef-94d3-832c2e05abaf.html\">Wisconsin State Journal</a></li><li data-block-key=\"55c12\"><b>Wyoming</b> — <a href=\"https://trib.com/news/local/companywide-tech-outages-impact-star-tribune-print-newspaper-and-e-editions/article_e1b47d28-e439-11ef-8f09-2b46431e8c8a.html\">Casper Star-Tribune</a></li></ul><p data-block-key=\"4nq2a\"></p><p data-block-key=\"aasvm\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include the names of additional news outlets that were confirmed to have been affected by the cyberattack.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Lee_Enterprises_-_Post-Dispatch.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"61pek\">The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and 75 other Lee Enterprises newspapers were affected by a cyberattack on the Iowa-based news media company on Feb. 3, 2025. Banners on the news websites alerted readers of ongoing “maintenance on some services.”</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Iowa",
"abbreviation": "IA"
},
"updates": [
"(2025-02-18 17:17:00+00:00) Lee systems accessed, files withdrawn in cyberattack",
"(2025-02-27 16:44:00+00:00) Cybercrime group claims it’s behind Lee Enterprises attack"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Lee Enterprises"
],
"tags": [
"cyberattack"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist arrested at anti-deportation protest in Indiana",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-arrested-at-anti-deportation-protest-in-indiana/",
"first_published_at": "2025-01-21T22:13:07.630584Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-04T12:30:39.715515Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-04T12:30:39.621044Z",
"date": "2025-01-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Gary",
"longitude": -87.34643,
"latitude": 41.59337,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"sw9mj\">Freelance photojournalist Matthew Kaplan was arrested in Gary, Indiana, on Jan. 18, 2025, while reporting on a pre-inauguration protest against large-scale deportations planned by Donald Trump’s incoming administration.</p><p data-block-key=\"7sotd\">In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mkaplanphoto/p/DE_ozY8Oo4d/11825-gary-indiana-i-was-arrested-by-the-gary-police-today-while-documenting-a-p/?img_index=7\">post on social media</a>, Kaplan wrote that protesters had gathered at the Gary/Chicago International Airport to demonstrate against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Regular protests have been held there since 2017 to object to its long-standing use by ICE for deportation flights, The Times of Northwest Indiana <a href=\"https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-courts/arrests-deportation-protest-gary-airport/article_109df45c-d5da-11ef-87e9-bbc3934461d0.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ijv0\">The demonstrators marched toward the airport from a nearby train station while chanting and carrying signs, including “Abolish ICE” and “No Human is Illegal,” Kaplan wrote. After spending around 10 minutes protesting near the airport, they began the walk back to the train.</p><p data-block-key=\"23ktl\">“Soon some 10-15 police cars were tailing the group and ordered them to get off the active highway,” Kaplan wrote. “This order was eventually obeyed, but almost immediately after the marchers were on the grassy shoulder, police began to push people down and make arrests.”</p><p data-block-key=\"busb8\">Lisa Kiselevich, another freelance photojournalist covering the demonstration, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that both she and Kaplan were photographing as police carried one of the arrested protesters to a police vehicle. She said she remembered thinking Kaplan was standing in the better position.</p><p data-block-key=\"3sco4\">“I’m like, ‘Oh, he got the best spot there for his shots, because then he can see the person and the police car door open and everything. He’s in the perfect spot there,” Kiselevich said. “It turned out that the spot was not so lucky, because the (my) next shot shows the policeman grabbing him from the back.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b29ql\">Kiselevich said she didn’t hear the Gary Police Department officer issue a warning before arresting Kaplan, adding that while the scene was chaotic it was clear that both she and Kaplan were only photographing the event.</p><p data-block-key=\"aenal\">She said Kaplan gave her his two cameras, along with his tripod and camera bag, because he was concerned the officers might wipe his memory cards. The officer allowed the handoff but repeatedly threatened Kiselevich with arrest if she didn’t leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"8epfv\">“I said, ‘Well yeah, I’ll be out of here. Just let me grab his camera,’” Kiselevich said. “I did it and was walking, and then he walked behind me, the policeman, and he kept saying, ‘I will arrest you’ or ‘I’m going to arrest you’ or something like that. And not very loudly either.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9cvvh\">The Gary Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2l5v\">Kaplan wrote in his account that he was taken to the Gary Police Station and held for around two hours before he was released on charges of disorderly conduct, criminal trespass and resisting law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"7fum1\">“I don’t really like myself being the story, because there were two protesters who were arrested too,” Kaplan told the Tracker. “That’s what I thought I was covering. I thought I was just covering a march. I didn’t think I was going to be covering police action or my own arrest.”</p><p data-block-key=\"q659\">Kaplan declined to comment further, following legal advice, before his initial appearance hearing Jan. 22.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"2nbn4\">Freelance photojournalist Matthew Kaplan, at center left in green, was arrested while covering an anti-deportation protest in Gary, Indiana, on Jan. 18, 2025. He was charged with criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and resisting law enforcement.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Gary Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
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"detention_date": "2025-01-18",
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"name": "Indiana",
"abbreviation": "IN"
},
"updates": [
"(2025-03-27 16:56:00+00:00) Indiana case against photographer dismissed"
],
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"immigration",
"protest"
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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{
"title": "Two journalists removed from briefing after interrupting Blinken",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-journalists-removed-from-briefing-after-interrupting-blinken/",
"first_published_at": "2025-01-17T22:04:41.153225Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-17T22:04:41.153225Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-17T22:00:18.404608Z",
"date": "2025-01-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gxq5a\">Two credentialed journalists were removed from Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s final news briefing at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 16, 2025, after they interrupted his remarks with questions and comments concerning the Biden administration’s role in the Israel-Gaza war.</p><p data-block-key=\"95ijb\">In a PBS News <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUjxnGQsEI4\">livestream</a> of the briefing, Blinken is heard starting his remarks by thanking the press corps for the work that they’ve done and their professionalism.<br/><br/> “I have even greater respect, even greater appreciation for you asking the tough questions, for you holding us to account,” he said. “Being on the receiving end, sometimes that’s not always the most comfortable thing, not always the most enjoyable thing, but it is the most necessary thing in our democracy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4jegq\">As Blinken finished those comments, Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal can be heard calling out about the number of journalists in Gaza who were “on the receiving end of your bombs.” Blumenthal <a href=\"https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1879926469633487204\">continued</a> making statements and asking questions about the administration’s actions around the war, and Blinken responded only by saying that he would address questions after he had completed his remarks.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">MUST SEE: Journalist <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MaxBlumenthal</a> confronts Antony Blinken about Israel's genocide<br><br>“300 reporters in Gaza were on the receiving end of your bombs…”<br><br>“Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal in May?…”<br><br>“Why did you allow the holocaust of our time to happen??…” <a href=\"https://t.co/wqpRDGEWCd\">pic.twitter.com/wqpRDGEWCd</a></p>— Decensored News (@decensorednews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/decensorednews/status/1879944242099101974?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 16, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gxq5a\">Blumenthal was ultimately directed out of the briefing room by a department employee. In a <a href=\"https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1880054714836070672\">post on the social platform X</a>, he wrote in part that he is “grateful to have finally gotten a conversation going on how America’s outgoing top diplomat repeatedly proclaimed his ethnoreligious and familial loyalty to a foreign apartheid state.”</p><p data-block-key=\"58rdg\">Approximately five minutes after Blumenthal was escorted out, independent journalist Sam Husseini also <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUjxnGQsEI4\">interrupted</a> Blinken. “Will you recognize the Geneva Conventions apply to the Palestinians?” Husseini asked.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2g70\">Blinken again responded that he would answer questions soon, and continued with the briefing.</p><p data-block-key=\"a6g8i\">After another five minutes passed, Husseini interrupted with another question, after which he could be heard having a back-and-forth with a department official and saying that he wanted Blinken to answer some questions. He added, “I’m a journalist. I’m not a potted plant.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bamk2\">Husseini also stated that State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told him that his questions would not be answered and so he was justified in interrupting the briefing.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ob7o\">In <a href=\"https://x.com/ryangrim/status/1879931954201870410\">footage</a> captured by Drop Site News reporter Ryan Grim, multiple security officers then approached Husseini, pulling him out of his chair and ultimately lifting him off the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"49ish\">“I was sitting here quietly and now I’m being manhandled by two or three people,” Husseini said. “You pontificate about a free press?”</p><p data-block-key=\"433ea\">Blinken again responded that he would answer questions after his remarks and asked that Husseini “respect the process.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8l35v\">As he was carried out of the room, Husseini called out, “Everybody from Amnesty International to the ICJ (International Court of Justice) is saying that Israel’s doing genocide and extermination, and you’re telling me to ‘respect the process’? Criminal! Why aren’t you in The Hague?”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NEW: We reconstructed <a href=\"https://twitter.com/samhusseini?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@samhusseini</a>'s viral confrontation with Antony Blinken by combining footage from multiple sources, including <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AmrHSayed?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@amrhsayed</a> & <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ryangrim?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ryangrim</a>. A must-see.<br><br>This was the culmination of months of State Dept stonewalling.<br><br>“Why aren't you in The Hague??” <a href=\"https://t.co/QRWQ1xz4Rv\">pic.twitter.com/QRWQ1xz4Rv</a></p>— Decensored News (@decensorednews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/decensorednews/status/1880230957070029141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 17, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gxq5a\">Blinken began taking questions a few minutes after Husseini was removed from the briefing room, <a href=\"https://www.state.gov/office-of-the-spokesperson/releases/2025/01/secretary-antony-j-blinken-at-a-press-availability\">answering questions</a> that were overwhelmingly about the administration’s handling of the Israel-Gaza war and ceasefire negotiations for approximately 45 minutes.</p><p data-block-key=\"dd9nt\">Husseini was ultimately <a href=\"https://x.com/samhusseini/status/1879931817253617798\">handcuffed</a> but later released without charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"4hu4\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/samhusseini/status/1880259181925544426\">post on social media</a>, Husseini wrote, “As I said, Miller told me they will not take my questions. I went to other staffers and journalists to complain. No one offered any remedy. I am not a stenographer. I am not a potted plant. I am not going to be complicit in my own silencing and the silencing of so many who depend on people like me.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"txm2g\">Independent journalist Sam Husseini, at center in gray, was forcibly carried out of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s final news conference by State Department security on Jan. 16, 2025, after he interrupted Blinken’s remarks.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
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],
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],
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{
"title": "Kansas House bans reporting from floor, mirroring move in Senate",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kansas-house-bans-reporting-from-floor-mirroring-move-in-senate/",
"first_published_at": "2025-01-16T22:21:17.264567Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-16T22:21:17.264567Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-16T22:17:26.031571Z",
"date": "2025-01-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Topeka",
"longitude": -95.67804,
"latitude": 39.04833,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"biywr\">Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins banned reporting from the chamber’s floor at the Statehouse in Topeka on Jan. 10, 2025, overturning longstanding practice in a move that journalists in the state said was retaliatory.</p><p data-block-key=\"2dgk\">Payton Lacey, director of communications for Hawkins, sent the revised rules to reporters three days before the legislative session was scheduled to begin Jan. 13. In a copy of the email shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Lacey directed members of the press to “review this document carefully as there have been significant changes made compared to past sessions’ rules.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eth2r\">During the 2024 session, journalists were generally advised to remain in the “press box” — a table with six chairs in a corner of the chamber — during the session, according to rules reviewed by the Tracker. Photographs were only to be taken from the back wall of the chamber or the press box.</p><p data-block-key=\"5l87l\">The new rules, however, eliminate press box access, instead directing members of the press to remain in a gallery above the back of the chamber. Photographs may still be taken from along the back and side walls, with filming allowed only from the back wall or the gallery above.</p><p data-block-key=\"9v2rf\">Hawkins, who did not respond to a request for comment, <a href=\"https://x.com/DanHawkinsKS/status/1879171220152983904\">posted a copy of the new rules</a> on the social platform X, adding, “As you can see, despite false reports, reporters are still allowed on the North, East, and South walls on the floor of the House.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fu998\">Sherman Smith, editor of the Kansas Reflector, told the Tracker that there has already been confusion with the new rules concerning whether journalists are allowed to take notes from the floor and if there are any limits on how long they can be in the chamber.</p><p data-block-key=\"ct6us\">“Payton Lacey kind of had shifting explanations as to whether we could stand there for long periods of time during a lengthy session,” Smith said, “or whether, as she suggested at one point, ‘Can’t you just take two photos and go back out?’”</p><p data-block-key=\"1b21g\">Lacey <a href=\"https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/13/kansas-house-speaker-bans-reporters-from-chamber-floor-doesnt-say-why/\">told the Reflector</a> that the rule change was based on “congestion” in the area previously allotted to the press. The new rule also mirrors changes made in the Senate, which <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-moved-from-kansas-senate-floor-to-public-gallery-for-new-legislative-session/\">barred journalists</a> from the chamber floor in 2022, citing space concerns. Multiple Republican-controlled state legislatures, including <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-removed-from-iowa-senate-floor-overturning-a-century-old-practice/\">Iowa</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/utah-senate-becomes-third-state-legislature-this-year-to-limit-journalists-access/\">Utah</a>, also limited press access to their chamber floors in 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"5a9k8\">Smith questioned the speaker’s rationale and said that there have been few occasions when the press box was overcrowded.</p><p data-block-key=\"90h8c\">“It’s not about this kind of shifting and incoherent rationale that they’ve given us since that story published,” he said. “It’s really about getting people that they don’t like off the floor because they don’t like what we report.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4rm92\">Emily Bradbury, executive director of the Kansas Press Association, told the Tracker that the change will have an immediate impact on journalists and the information they’re able to provide the public.</p><p data-block-key=\"fs35c\">“Reporting from the floor is important because there are a lot of conversations that don’t happen behind the mic,” Bradbury said. “Sometimes we are the only source of information between the people of Kansas and their representatives. And by giving reporters access and being able to overhear those conversations, we’re able to report on what’s happening in real time, which also helps those public servants get their message out accurately.”</p><p data-block-key=\"70qti\">The Reflector’s Smith told the Tracker that he can’t recall how many times a legislator has approached him with a comment or explanation on the floor about why they voted a particular way or their hopes for a particular bill.</p><p data-block-key=\"ffb8i\">“With these changes, it means that we have to work a little bit harder to do this, and we’ll lose some of that context for the stories. We’re just going to have to continue to raise stories that hold people accountable,” Smith said.</p><p data-block-key=\"fimq2\">Bradbury told the Tracker that while the press association was not consulted before the rules were changed, they are ready and willing to discuss solutions with the speaker that would be mutually agreeable.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/KS_House.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"w9ay4\">Payton Lacey, spokesperson for Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, stands at the “press box” on the chamber floor in Topeka on Jan. 15, 2025. Journalists were banned from reporting from the House floor at the beginning of the 2025 legislative session.</p>",
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"name": "Kansas",
"abbreviation": "KS"
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"Media"
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"State government: Legislature"
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},
{
"title": "New Yorker writer subpoenaed ahead of Massachusetts murder trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-yorker-writer-subpoenaed-ahead-of-massachusetts-murder-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2025-03-26T19:58:50.817384Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-26T19:58:50.817384Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-26T19:54:37.825216Z",
"date": "2024-12-18",
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"city": "Brockton",
"longitude": -71.01838,
"latitude": 42.08343,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hvsrk\">New Yorker contributing writer Eren Orbey and the magazine’s publisher, Condé Nast, were subpoenaed on Dec. 18, 2024, for copies of on- and off-the-record interviews and communications in connection with a murder trial in Brockton, Massachusetts. The magazine has requested the order be struck down.</p><p data-block-key=\"1p2va\">In 2023 and 2024, Orbey extensively interviewed Patrick Clancy, whose wife, Lindsay Clancy, stands charged for the murder of their three children in January 2023. Orbey also spoke with Patrick Clancy’s parents, sister and numerous family friends, ultimately authoring a lengthy October 2024 profile titled, “<a href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/science/annals-of-psychology/a-husband-in-the-aftermath-of-his-wifes-unfathomable-act\">A husband in the aftermath of his wife’s unfathomable act</a>.”</p><p data-block-key=\"69h19\">In December, prosecutors attempted to compel the disclosure of the journalist’s notes and recordings from all of the interviews he conducted for the piece, including those that were off the record. The Commonwealth also requested all emails, texts and voicemails between Orbey and the interviewees, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"1jlqk\">“All of these individuals provided direct information to Orbey/Conde Nast related to how Lindsay’s demeanor, attitudes, and mental health appeared both before and after the murders,” Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague wrote. “These statements and observations are directly relevant to the defendant’s criminal responsibility as the article itself was framed to portray the defendant as suffering a mental health crisis when she killed her children.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c2oag\">Plymouth County Superior Court Judge William Sulivan granted the prosecution’s request on Feb. 7, 2025, and ordered Orbey or Condé Nast to provide the requested materials by March 14.</p><p data-block-key=\"fikdq\">That day, Condé Nast instead filed a motion to quash the records request, arguing that not only does New York’s reporter shield law protect the magazine from disclosing newsgathering materials, but that the request itself is a clear “fishing expedition.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f6tej\">“The New Yorker’s sympathies are not on trial here. In fact, even a cursory reading of the piece shows The New Yorker’s reporting is complex and nuanced, and is hardly ‘in support’ of the defense,” attorney Jonathan Albano wrote. “But even if it were, the notion that the government could seek presumptively privileged, unpublished information from any news outlet that expresses sympathy for a criminal defendant is chilling and directly contrary to the First Amendment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aq6hl\">Albano also highlighted that while only some of the sources for the article were confidential, all of the sources Orbey spoke with were sensitive about speaking to the press, largely out of a concern for causing further emotional distress to distraught family members.</p><p data-block-key=\"502ja\">“The forced disclosure of confidential and unpublished journalistic work product not only would breach the trust of the sources here,” Albano wrote, “but also would significantly interfere with The New Yorker’s future reporting efforts by sending a signal to all sources that speaking to the magazine is the equivalent of speaking to the government, all to the detriment of the informing the public on matters of public concern.”</p><p data-block-key=\"82qpq\">A hearing on Condé Nast’s motion is scheduled for May 28, according to the court docket.</p><p data-block-key=\"ecr0b\">In a statement shared with the Tracker, a New Yorker spokesperson said, “We’ve filed our opposition to this subpoena. These sorts of subpoenas that seek to turn independent journalists into tools of law enforcement violate basic First Amendment values.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"etu77\">A portion of Massachusetts prosecutors’ Dec. 18, 2024, motion to force New Yorker reporter Eren Orbey to disclose recordings, notes and communications with multiple sources ahead of a 2025 murder trial in Brockton.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Massachusetts",
"abbreviation": "MA"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Condé Nast "
],
"tags": [],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Eren Orbey (The New Yorker)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance reporter subpoenaed in connection with defamation suit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-reporter-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-defamation-suit/",
"first_published_at": "2025-05-20T14:36:27.434546Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-05-20T14:36:27.434546Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-05-20T14:36:27.332185Z",
"date": "2024-12-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fort Lauderdale",
"longitude": -80.14338,
"latitude": 26.12231,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ps1ka\">Freelance journalist Lily Dobrovolskaya was subpoenaed on Dec. 18, 2024, in connection with a defamation lawsuit filed in Florida federal court by an airline company. The request was struck down in March 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"fd6il\">Dobrovolskaya wrote a <a href=\"https://www.occrp.org/en/investigation/flight-of-the-monarch-us-govt-contracted-airline-once-owned-by-criminals-with-ties-to-russian-mob\">2020 story</a> about the company, Monarch Air Group, for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative journalism organization based in the Netherlands. Monarch subsequently sued Dobrovolskaya and OCCRP’s parent company — the Journalism Development Network — for defamation, alleging that the article insinuated Monarch was involved in criminal activity, and that the defendants knowingly left errors online for months after being alerted to falsehoods. Dobrovolskaya was later dismissed from the defamation suit.</p><p data-block-key=\"9vnf9\">The December subpoena initially requested a wide range of notes, interviews and other newsgathering materials related to Dobrovolskaya’s work on the story, according to court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The subpoena was later narrowed, but still sought interviews with confidential sources, correspondence with a blogger and documents relating to a social media post by the journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"fsfp4\">It also asked for Dobrovolskaya’s prepublication communications with the Miami Herald. The Herald had <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/miami-herald-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-airline-defamation-suit/\">received</a> its own legal order to turn over the materials in October 2024, which was struck down a month later.</p><p data-block-key=\"a45cg\">The reporter, who lives in New York, filed a motion to set aside the subpoena on Jan. 16, 2025, in federal court in that state. She argued that the materials are privileged under the First Amendment and reporter’s shield laws in New York and Florida.</p><p data-block-key=\"aq0uc\">Monarch in a Jan. 31 response argued that the information it sought was crucial to its case and not subject to reporter’s shield laws. It also argued that Florida law should apply because most of Dobrovolskaya’s reporting focused on individuals and entities based in the state.</p><p data-block-key=\"69n2a\">On Feb. 13, Judge Jennifer Rochon asked Dobrovolskaya whether she would agree to transfer her motion to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The journalist objected on Feb. 20, arguing that she lives and carried out her work in New York, and that the state’s reporter’s shield law provided her with stronger protections, especially regarding being forced to disclose confidential sources.</p><p data-block-key=\"e6b0f\">Rochon agreed to allow the case to remain in New York. On March 7, she <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.635210/gov.uscourts.nysd.635210.19.0.pdf\">struck down</a> the subpoena, ruling that New York’s more robust shield law applied and that the materials sought by Monarch are privileged.</p><p data-block-key=\"cagjl\">Dobrovolskaya and her attorney, Rachel Strom, did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"878e1\">A portion of the subpoena issued to freelance journalist Lily Dobrovolskaya on Dec. 18, 2024<b>,</b> by Monarch Air Group, as part of its defamation suit against a news outlet for which the reporter wrote a story on the airline.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Florida",
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"categories": [
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"targeted_journalists": [
"Lily Dobrovolskaya (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Colorado TV reporter tackled, choked outside station in apparent bias attack",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/colorado-tv-reporter-tackled-choked-outside-station-in-apparent-bias-attack/",
"first_published_at": "2025-01-07T21:38:04.496606Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-07T21:39:46.397867Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-07T21:39:46.274012Z",
"date": "2024-12-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Grand Junction",
"longitude": -108.55065,
"latitude": 39.06387,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"upks2\">Ja’Ronn Alex, a news reporter for KKCO/KJCT, was tackled and choked outside the Grand Junction, Colorado, TV station on Dec. 18, 2024, after being followed while driving a news vehicle and challenged over his nationality, according to police records and news reports.</p><p data-block-key=\"9jlq4\">A Colorado man, Patrick Egan, was arrested at the scene and charged with bias-motivated crimes and second-degree assault by strangulation — both felonies — and harassment by following and ethnic intimidation, a misdemeanor.</p><p data-block-key=\"4kunm\">Alex told police that he believed Egan had followed and attacked him because of his ethnicity as a Pacific Islander.</p><p data-block-key=\"3evf8\">The police affidavit said that Alex was driving back to the station from an assignment when Egan began following him in Delta, about 40 miles away. KKCO said in <a href=\"https://www.kkco11news.com/2025/01/02/man-accused-strangling-kkcokjct-reporter-bias-motivated-attack-has-criminal-record-california-according-judge/\">multiple</a> <a href=\"https://www.kkco11news.com/2024/12/23/bail-court-date-set-man-charged-with-strangling-kkcokjct-reporter-bias-related-attack/\">reports</a> that Alex was driving in a news vehicle, and Grand Junction’s Daily Sentinel newspaper <a href=\"https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/man-accused-of-strangling-tv-reporter-has-history-of-mental-illness-lawyer-says/article_203fce1a-c94d-11ef-b3a6-b3385f7ea1de.html\">reported</a> that the vehicle had the TV station’s logos, citing KKCO/KJCT.</p><p data-block-key=\"4aeuc\">According to the affidavit, Alex said that Egan, who was driving a taxi, pulled up next to his car at a stoplight in Grand Junction and shouted “something to the effect of: ‘Are you even a U.S. Citizen? This is Trump’s America now! I’m a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!’”</p><p data-block-key=\"2i137\">Alex then called the station’s general manager, Stacey Stewart, who told him to drive straight to the secure station building. Egan continued to follow Alex to the station, where both men parked in front of the building and got out of their cars. Egan chased Alex as he began to run toward the front door of the station, demanding to see his identification and asking him if he was an American, the affidavit said.</p><p data-block-key=\"cgp77\">Egan then tackled Alex to the ground, put him in a headlock and began to strangle him. At that point, several station employees ran outside, pulled Egan away from Alex and held him down until police arrived. The attack was partially captured on surveillance cameras, the affidavit said.</p><p data-block-key=\"dum7g\">Witnesses told police that Egan choked Alex for 45 to 90 seconds, and that his face turned red and he appeared to have difficulty breathing.</p><p data-block-key=\"2dn5n\">Alex, who sustained minor injuries in the attack, declined to comment. Stewart said she could not comment on the attack beyond the stations’ news reports.</p><p data-block-key=\"75tbk\">At Egan’s initial court appearance on Dec. 23, Alex <a href=\"https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/man-accused-of-strangling-tv-reporter-has-history-of-mental-illness-lawyer-says/article_203fce1a-c94d-11ef-b3a6-b3385f7ea1de.html\">said</a> of Egan: “He knows where I work, he knows exactly who I work for, and he still decided to charge at me and put me in a headlock.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bc38j\">Egan appeared in court on Jan. 2, where KKCO reported that the judge kept a protection order in place. Egan <a href=\"https://www.kkco11news.com/2025/01/03/patrick-egan-has-posted-bail-following-charges-bias-motivated-strangulation-attack-kkcokjct-reporter/\">posted</a> $20,000 bail later that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"6aogc\">His lawyer, Ruth Swift, did not return a voicemail requesting comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"sqeup\">Colorado man Patrick Egan faces two felony charges after following a KKCO/KJCT television reporter, demanding to know his nationality, and tackling and choking him outside the Grand Junction TV station on Dec. 18, 2024.</p>",
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"name": "Colorado",
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},
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],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter denied press credentials by Utah Capitol; files suit for access",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-denied-press-credentials-by-utah-capitol-files-suit-for-access/",
"first_published_at": "2025-01-28T21:05:40.316171Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-28T21:05:40.316171Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-28T18:13:25.920817Z",
"date": "2024-12-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Salt Lake City",
"longitude": -111.89105,
"latitude": 40.76078,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"f2fhg\">Bryan Schott, founder of the news website Utah Political Watch, was denied credentials for the state’s 2025 legislative session on Dec. 17, 2024, a move he characterized in a subsequent lawsuit against officials in the House and Senate as retaliatory.</p><p data-block-key=\"4hm5p\">Schott told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he has covered the statehouse in Salt Lake City for more than 25 years and received Capitol press credentials without issue since 2013. He left The Salt Lake Tribune in mid-2024 to launch the web outlet and is its sole reporter.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ovsa\">In a <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/schotthappens.com/post/3ldhitxcjws2q\">post on social media</a>, Schott wrote that he first asked about receiving credentials for the upcoming session on Nov. 5, but didn’t initially receive a response. The Capitol credentialing policy was changed Nov. 24, Schott reported, and explicitly excludes “blogs, independent media or other freelance media.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b89kr\">In a new preamble, the <a href=\"https://le.utah.gov/press/MediaAccessCredentialingPolicy.pdf?ref=utahpoliticalwatch.news\">credentialing policy</a> states that the process is “designed to give professional journalists and media representatives from reputable organizations access to cover the legislature and other significant events at the Utah State Capitol.”</p><p data-block-key=\"338mv\">The policy’s language around why credentials may be denied or revoked also changed from “Applicant does not represent a professional media organization” to “Does not represent an established reputable news organization or publication.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7pjri\">Schott told the Tracker that the changes purposefully excluded him and, according to open records requests he made, he was the only one who had been denied a credential. Meanwhile, Schott added, other new and independent outlets haven’t seen their access change.</p><p data-block-key=\"95iqi\">Attorneys with the Institute for Free Speech, which is representing Schott, argued that the retaliatory aspect was made clear in an official’s response to Schott, after he reported Dec. 12 on allegations that Senate President Stuart Adams had violated campaign disclosure laws.</p><p data-block-key=\"a3qgs\">When Schott reached out for comment to Aundrea Peterson, Utah Senate deputy chief of staff and media liaison designee, she accused him of having a “disregard for accurate reporting and ethical standards” and told him “you aren’t a journalist,” according to the <a href=\"https://www.ifs.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2-Complaint-w-Exs-A-D-and-Civil-Cover-Sheet.pdf\">lawsuit</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2nsvh\">In the text exchange included in the suit, Schott wrote to Peterson, “It certainly sounds like you’re going to use your criticism of this story you don’t like to deny me a press credential next week.” She responded, “We will follow our policy when reviewing media credential applications.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5fob\">Adams also derided the article in a <a href=\"https://x.com/JStuartAdams/status/1867404744819716512\">post</a> on the social platform X, referring to it as a “blog post” and to Schott as a “former media member,” accusing him of “neglectful journalism that undermines the profession’s integrity.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f9pm8\">Schott applied for Capitol press credentials five days later, on Dec. 17. Although he passed the background check, his request was denied based on the new policy’s exclusion of “blogs, independent, or other freelance journalists.” He appealed the decision, but the chiefs of staff for both the House and Senate upheld it Dec. 26.</p><p data-block-key=\"b56j5\">The Utah legislative session began on Jan. 21, 2025, and Schott filed his lawsuit against the chiefs of staff and media liaisons for both legislative chambers the following day. The suit alleges violations of his First and Fourteenth amendment rights and asks for an order requiring the Capitol to credential independent media, as well as nominal damages totaling $17.91, the year the Bill of Rights was ratified.</p><p data-block-key=\"d5vpf\">Schott told the Tracker on Jan. 27 that in the days since, he has missed multiple media availabilities, news conferences and news releases because of his lack of access to areas of the Capitol and exclusion from the press list.</p><p data-block-key=\"fkoq5\">“It’s dangerous when you allow the people who are the subject of reporting to decide who is and who is not a legitimate media outlet or legitimate journalist and that’s what is happening here,” Schott said. “They are picking and choosing who gets to ask them questions, who gets to cover them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bvhi9\">A Feb. 5 hearing is scheduled on Schott’s request for a temporary restraining order requiring the legislature to grant him credentials for the current session, he told the Tracker. But he added that Utah’s legislative session is the shortest in the country, lasting only 45 days, so even if the order is granted that day he will have already missed a third of the session.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Schott_denial.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"q1nzn\">Bryan Schott, founder of the news website Utah Political Watch, has sued officials in the state’s House and Senate after being denied credentials for the 2025 legislative session on Dec. 17, 2024.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "2:25-cv-00050",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Utah",
"abbreviation": "UT"
},
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],
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"State government: Legislature"
],
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"categories": [
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],
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"Bryan Schott (Utah Political Watch)"
],
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"Change in policy or practice",
"Press credential or media list"
]
},
{
"title": "TV photographer assaulted by manager at Texas used-car lot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tv-photographer-assaulted-by-manager-at-texas-used-car-lot/",
"first_published_at": "2024-12-12T16:59:21.236026Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-12-12T16:59:21.236026Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-12-12T16:53:42.326246Z",
"date": "2024-12-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Pasadena",
"longitude": -95.2091,
"latitude": 29.69106,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"os54p\">KPRC-TV photojournalist Oscar Chavez was grabbed, pushed and elbowed multiple times while reporting at a Houston-area used-car dealership in Pasadena, Texas, on Dec. 5, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ihsb\">In a <a href=\"https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/12/05/video-kprc-2-reporter-and-photojournalist-assaulted-while-doing-story-on-used-car-lot/\">report for the outlet</a>, reporter <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tv-reporter-shoved-phone-thrown-by-manager-at-texas-used-car-lot\">Gage Goulding</a> recounted that he and Chavez went to the business to investigate a young woman’s allegations that she was conned out of $1,500 when trying to buy a car.</p><p data-block-key=\"7acqa\">Goulding reportedly went undercover as a potential customer to see whether he’d have a similar experience.</p><p data-block-key=\"19a9h\">“Wearing a microphone, but without a camera, Goulding got the keys to a Jeep and with the salesman, started the engine and talked about test-driving the vehicle,” KPRC-TV reported. “At that point, he informed the salesman who he was and why he was there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8qia4\">In <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/GageGouldingTV/videos/2422483971430371\">recordings</a> of the exchange that followed, the salesman is heard inviting Goulding inside to speak with the manager, David Estrada. Goulding — with Chavez following behind with a camera — began asking Estrada about the woman’s experience.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pgq6\">“When we do these stories and confront businesses, we usually are met with one simple answer: Please leave. And we do, we abide by that,” Goulding reported. “But this story was different from the get-go.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dbltl\">Estrada stood and without warning placed his hand on Chavez’s camera and began pushing the photojournalist outside. Outside the office, Estrada continued grabbing the camera while Goulding yelled for him not to touch their equipment and Chavez said that they were leaving.</p><p data-block-key=\"2mfhh\">“Meanwhile, the car salesman is grabbing (Chavez’s) camera, twisting his arm and throwing elbows,” Goulding said in his report.</p><p data-block-key=\"9t3ua\">Estrada also smacked Goulding’s phone “through the air” and pinned Chavez in the journalists’ vehicle.</p><p data-block-key=\"81t2q\">Neither journalist responded to requests for additional comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"aap7h\">KPRC-TV reported that Estrada was arrested that day on two counts of assault. Estrada is also facing unrelated charges for allegedly embezzling more than $140,000 from another dealership, <a href=\"https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/12/06/pasadena-salesman-arrested-for-assault-on-kprc-news-crew-also-accused-of-stealing-over-144k-from-tomball-dealership/\">according to the station</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ibbd\">The woman whose experience sparked the investigation was contacted by the dealership and told she would be overnighted a check for the full $1,500.</p><p data-block-key=\"e6g31\">“The goal of this story wasn’t to create any drama,” Goulding reported. “It was to get answers for (the woman) and her family. And the good news is: We did get those answers.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"2gvy6\">KPRC-TV photojournalist Oscar Chavez, right, was shoved and grabbed by the manager of a Houston-area used-car dealership in Pasadena, Texas, while he and reporter Gage Goulding were investigating allegations of fraud on Dec. 5, 2024.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"actor": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
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"categories": [
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],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Oscar Chavez (KPRC-TV)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "TV reporter shoved, phone thrown by manager at Texas used-car lot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tv-reporter-shoved-phone-thrown-by-manager-at-texas-used-car-lot/",
"first_published_at": "2024-12-12T16:59:49.714771Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-12-12T16:59:49.714771Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-12-12T16:53:27.169800Z",
"date": "2024-12-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Pasadena",
"longitude": -95.2091,
"latitude": 29.69106,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"izkbz\">KPRC-TV reporter Gage Goulding was shoved and his camera smacked out of his hands while reporting at a Houston-area used-car dealership in Pasadena, Texas, on Dec. 5, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"etkjk\">In a <a href=\"https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/12/05/video-kprc-2-reporter-and-photojournalist-assaulted-while-doing-story-on-used-car-lot/\">report for the outlet</a>, Goulding recounted that he and photojournalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tv-photographer-assaulted-by-manager-at-texas-used-car-lot\">Oscar Chavez</a> went to the business to investigate a young woman’s allegations that she was conned out of $1,500 when trying to buy a car.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0q6a\">Goulding reportedly went undercover as a potential customer to see whether he’d have a similar experience.</p><p data-block-key=\"fs9t1\">“Wearing a microphone, but without a camera, Goulding got the keys to a Jeep and with the salesman, started the engine and talked about test-driving the vehicle,” KPRC-TV reported. “At that point, he informed the salesman who he was and why he was there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fv78n\">In <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/GageGouldingTV/videos/2422483971430371\">recordings</a> of the exchange that followed, the salesman is heard inviting Goulding inside to speak with the manager, David Estrada. Goulding — with Chavez following behind with a camera — began asking Estrada about the woman’s experience.</p><p data-block-key=\"14ft1\">“When we do these stories and confront businesses, we usually are met with one simple answer: Please leave. And we do, we abide by that,” Goulding reported. “But this story was different from the get-go.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fig0\">Estrada stood and without warning placed his hand on Chavez’s camera and began pushing the photojournalist outside. Outside the office, Estrada continued grabbing the camera while Goulding yelled for him not to touch their equipment and Chavez said that they were leaving.</p><p data-block-key=\"42f56\">“Meanwhile, the car salesman is grabbing (Chavez’s) camera, twisting his arm and throwing elbows,” Goulding said in his report.</p><p data-block-key=\"egeq5\">Estrada also smacked Goulding’s phone “through the air” and pinned Chavez in the journalists’ vehicle.</p><p data-block-key=\"2odrt\">Neither journalist responded to requests for additional comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ci4e\">KPRC-TV reported that Estrada was arrested that day on two counts of assault. Estrada is also facing unrelated charges for allegedly embezzling more than $140,000 from another dealership, <a href=\"https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/12/06/pasadena-salesman-arrested-for-assault-on-kprc-news-crew-also-accused-of-stealing-over-144k-from-tomball-dealership/\">according to the station</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"73sl2\">The woman whose experience sparked the investigation was contacted by the dealership and told she would be overnighted a check for the full $1,500.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmjoa\">“The goal of this story wasn’t to create any drama,” Goulding reported. “It was to get answers for (the woman) and her family. And the good news is: We did get those answers.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1ge1k\">KPRC-TV reporter Gage Goulding, right, reports from the station’s studio on the arrest of a Houston-area man who assaulted him and photojournalist Oscar Chavez at a used-car dealership in Pasadena, Texas, on Dec. 5, 2024.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Gage Goulding (KPRC-TV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist ordered to turn over notes, communications around murder trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-ordered-to-turn-over-notes-communications-around-murder-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2025-02-24T16:30:40.974780Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-24T16:30:40.974780Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-24T16:25:57.804173Z",
"date": "2024-11-21",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Dedham",
"longitude": -71.16616,
"latitude": 42.24177,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"b7kwg\">Boston magazine contributing editor Gretchen Voss was subpoenaed on Nov. 21, 2024, for confidential newsgathering materials in connection with a murder trial in Dedham, Massachusetts. After initially upholding the motion in December, the judge partially reversed the order almost two months later.</p><p data-block-key=\"cecng\">In June and July 2023, Voss <a href=\"https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2023/09/27/canton-karen-read/\">interviewed Karen Read</a>, who stands accused of the murder of her boyfriend in a case that has captured national attention.</p><p data-block-key=\"670eh\">Prosecutors first attempted in January 2024 to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-turns-over-interview-recordings-in-connection-with-murder-trial\">compel the disclosure</a> of the journalist’s notes and recordings of the interviews. Massachusetts does not have a formally recognized reporter’s shield law protecting journalists from being forced to disclose newsgathering materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"2iorp\">Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone denied the prosecutor’s request for the off-the-record portions of the interviews and notes handwritten by Voss, but ordered her to produce copies of Read’s recorded on-the-record comments. Voss provided the redacted recordings.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ki93\">The case against Read ended in a mistrial in July and was scheduled for a retrial in early 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"4u2c9\">The state renewed its request for the notes and unredacted interview recordings in November 2024, ahead of the second trial. Prosecutors also requested copies of any texts, emails or voicemail communications Voss had with Read.</p><p data-block-key=\"dfpe2\">“The defendant made a tactical decision to be interviewed. There is no legal justification enabling a defendant to pick and choose what statements can and should be disseminated to the public,” the motion said. “The ‘off the record’ promise has no legal import, and this Commonwealth does not recognize the private agreement between the defendant and the news sources.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aiss5\">Cannone granted the government’s request on Dec. 5 and ordered Voss to produce the documents by Jan. 2, 2025. Voss filed a motion for reconsideration regarding her notes, writing in an affidavit that forcing her to turn them over would jeopardize her credibility with sources in the future and her ability to work as an investigative journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"ds41f\">“Obtaining information from sources ‘off the record’ is a normal—and critical—part of my work,” Voss wrote. “Keeping my word on this is critical to maintaining credibility and trust, and thus maintaining source relationships while not intervening with the flow of important information to the public.”</p><p data-block-key=\"el3l5\">Robert Bertsche, an attorney representing Voss and Boston magazine, argued in the motion that courts have cautioned against making journalists “discovery agents for the government.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bcifg\">“What is the Commonwealth seeking now from the taped interviews? Exactly what it forswore earlier: the statements made by Karen Read’s attorneys during those interviews,” Bertsche wrote. “The Commonwealth is commandeering a journalist merely in the hopes that the journalist’s records will prove useful to its case.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9iqgh\">Cannone ordered Voss to provide the notes for “in camera review” — where the judge privately views disputed materials to determine relevance — by Jan. 13, and Voss complied.</p><p data-block-key=\"v9rn\">During a Jan. 31 hearing, Cannone partially reversed her decision and ruled that Voss would not be compelled to turn over her off-the-record notes, the Boston Herald <a href=\"https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/02/01/karen-read-judge-rules-in-favor-of-boston-magazine-the-free-flow-of-information/\">reported</a>. “Voss has articulated a compelling argument that requiring disclosure of the notes poses a greater risk to the free flow of information than the other materials produced,” Cannone wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"b3aev\">The judge ruled, however, that the unredacted copies of her on-the-record interviews with Read — which had excluded off-the-record comments from both Read and her attorneys — must be turned over to prosecutors.</p><p data-block-key=\"a3tt9\">Neither Voss nor Bertsche responded to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Voss_motion.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"kwqr6\">A portion of Massachusetts prosecutors’ Nov. 21, 2024, motion to force Boston magazine contributing editor Gretchen Voss to disclose her off-the-record interview notes and communications with Karen Read ahead of Read’s retrial on murder charges.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"release_date": null,
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"case_number": null,
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"actor": null,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "State",
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Massachusetts",
"abbreviation": "MA"
},
"updates": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Gretchen Voss (Boston)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "FBI arrests man for hate-based threats against New York reporter",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-arrests-man-for-hate-based-threats-against-new-york-reporter/",
"first_published_at": "2024-11-21T21:47:15.271899Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-21T21:47:15.271899Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-21T21:46:44.901462Z",
"date": "2024-11-15",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "White Plains",
"longitude": -73.76291,
"latitude": 41.03399,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"o93g5\">The FBI arrested a man on Nov. 15, 2024, who was allegedly behind a series of hate-based threats against a reporter in New York’s Hudson Valley.</p><p data-block-key=\"d06dh\">The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/south-carolina-man-arrested-hate-based-threats-kill-news-reporter-and-her-family\">announced</a> that Austin Suman was arrested in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, after having allegedly made a series of “violent and hate-based threats” to a news reporter in Orange County via Facebook and email a week prior.</p><p data-block-key=\"4rt3j\">“Hiding behind a screen will not prevent the FBI’s pursuit of those who target others with hateful messages of violence and death,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Dennehy said.</p><p data-block-key=\"48bom\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-11/u.s._v._suman_complaint.pdf\">complaint</a>, Suman targeted the reporter over her coverage of his arrest in 2019 for allegedly threatening his roommate with a gun, which resulted in his firearms being seized.</p><p data-block-key=\"d3igt\">Suman’s Nov. 8 messages derided the reporter as a “dumb fuckin cunt,” adding “female journalist what a joke.” He repeatedly used an ethnic slur against people of Hispanic, Latin American or Spanish descent, and asserted, “We are going to deport your family all of them.” Suman then bragged about having “more guns than ever,” and threatened to bomb the reporter’s home and to kill her and her family.</p><p data-block-key=\"iqj2\">Suman was charged with threatening interstate communications, making a threat involving explosives and interstate stalking. His case will be handled in federal court in White Plains, and he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.</p><p data-block-key=\"4lov7\">The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that addressing such aggressions against journalists is a priority.</p><p data-block-key=\"e2gac\">“The charges against the defendant demonstrate our resolve to work at lightning speed to neutralize threats against the press—which serves a vital role in our democracy,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “To any individual who dares to cross the line and make hate-based threats against members of our press: you will be found, and you will be held accountable for your actions.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2024-11-19_at_7.18.40P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"qn2fg\">A portion of the complaint against Austin Suman, alleging that he sent a series of violent, hate-based threats to a New York reporter on Nov. 8, 2024. Suman was arrested Nov. 15 in South Carolina.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": null,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified reporter 8"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "FCC commissioner accuses media ratings provider of censorship",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fcc-commissioner-accuses-media-ratings-provider-of-censorship/",
"first_published_at": "2025-01-08T14:34:58.015806Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-08T14:34:58.015806Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-08T14:34:57.826523Z",
"date": "2024-11-13",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"73axa\">FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr accused private company NewsGuard, which uses journalistic methods to generate reliability ratings of media outlets, of participating in a “censorship cartel” in a Nov. 13, 2024, letter to four tech companies.</p><p data-block-key=\"9kpt4\">Carr accused NewsGuard of targeting and censoring certain outlets by giving them low credibility ratings and allowing bias to shape its ratings.</p><p data-block-key=\"bgjuf\">In the <a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-407732A1.pdf\">letter</a> to the heads of Microsoft, Apple, Meta — which owns Facebook and Instagram — and Alphabet — which owns Google — Carr demanded lists of every product or service that relies on NewsGuard, information he said would “inform the FCC’s work to promote free speech and a diversity of viewpoints.”</p><p data-block-key=\"54thf\">Carr posted the letter on X, writing, “The Orwellian named NewsGuard along with ‘fact checking’ groups & ad agencies helped enforce one-sided narratives.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft & others have played central roles in the censorship cartel.<br><br>The Orwellian named NewsGuard along with “fact checking” groups & ad agencies helped enforce one-sided narratives.<br><br>The censorship cartel must be dismantled. <a href=\"https://t.co/Xf0sEYOUfv\">pic.twitter.com/Xf0sEYOUfv</a></p>— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1857419658812440927?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 15, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"73axa\">According to <a href=\"https://www.newsguardtech.com/\">NewsGuard’s website</a>, it employs “a team of journalists and experienced editors” to produce reliability ratings for online publishers using “journalistic criteria.” In a <a href=\"https://www.newsguardtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/NewsGuard-Statement-on-Brendan-Carr-Letter.pdf\">statement</a> responding to Carr’s letter, the company argued that the commissioner’s accusations were based on “false reports,” including from conservative outlet Newsmax, which NewsGuard has given a low credibility rating.</p><p data-block-key=\"1i8m9\">“Our journalism is itself speech protected by the First Amendment,” NewsGuard stated. “We’re concerned to see a government official using the powers of his office, however unwittingly after having been misled by Newsmax, to attempt to prevent a private company (NewsGuard) from producing journalistic content.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fjghh\">When reached for comment about NewsGuard’s statement, Carr <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/12/24/newsguard-disinformation-censorship-free-speech/\">told</a> The Washington Post, “NewsGuard’s response is a jumble of disinformation, deception and sleight of hand. In other words, it mirrors NewsGuard’s business model, in my opinion.”</p><p data-block-key=\"19pbu\">Carr seems to be attempting to punish the company “for doing journalism,” NewsGuard Co-Editor-in-Chief Steven Brill <a href=\"https://deadline.com/2024/12/newsguard-newsmax-trump-fcc-1236202249/\">told</a> Deadline. “It’s like saying I am going to penalize Consumer Reports because it’s giving people information when they are looking to buy a toaster.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1o5qs\">Carr was appointed to the FCC in 2017 by President Donald Trump. On Nov. 17, 2024, after winning reelection, Trump <a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-brendan-carr-federal-communications-commission-rcna180567\">announced</a> that he had selected Carr as FCC chair, calling him “a warrior for Free Speech.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2b2tk\">Carr has supported Trump’s calls for <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-calls-nbc-fake-news-and-suggests-fcc-should-challenge-its-broadcast-license/\">NBC</a>, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/politics-and-the-press/#Oct-10-2024-Trump\">CBS</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/politics-and-the-press/#Sept-11-2024-Trump\">ABC</a> to lose their broadcast licenses over their alleged mistreatment of him, NPR <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/11/17/nx-s1-5193064/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-trump\">reported</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP23334698592818.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"y0mid\">FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in 2023. Carr sent a letter to four tech companies on Nov. 13, 2024, demanding information about their work with NewsGuard, a media reliability rater that he accused of participating in a “censorship cartel.”</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
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"actor": null,
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"NewsGuard"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "California court clerk charged with providing search warrant to reporter",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/california-court-clerk-charged-with-providing-search-warrant-to-reporter/",
"first_published_at": "2024-11-15T19:34:23.392150Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-12-18T18:37:05.104735Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-12-18T18:37:04.968757Z",
"date": "2024-11-13",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Stockton",
"longitude": -121.29078,
"latitude": 37.9577,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"osdzh\">Pamela Edwards — a former clerk for the San Joaquin County Superior Court in Stockton, California — was charged on Nov. 13, 2024, with allegedly releasing a sealed search warrant to a reporter a year prior.</p><p data-block-key=\"36rlj\">In November 2023, sheriff’s deputies <a href=\"https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2023/11/14/search-warrants-served-at-stockton-unified-office-trustees-home/71585337007/\">searched</a> the home of the Stockton Unified School District board president and the school board’s headquarters as part of an investigation into the official’s alleged misuse of a school district credit card, witness intimidation and other misconduct.</p><p data-block-key=\"3u1ub\">Later that month, Stockton Record reporter Aaron Leathley <a href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/11/28/warrant-reveals-why-stockton-unifieds-angelann-flores-was-searched/71627562007/\">reported</a> on various details from the search warrant, a copy of which the paper had obtained from the San Joaquin County Superior Court.</p><p data-block-key=\"6t1bm\">A day after the article was published, the Record <a href=\"https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/local/2024/09/12/sheriffs-deputies-visit-home-of-stockton-record-reporter-for-unclear-reasons/75076689007/\">reported</a>, a public information officer for the court emailed Leathley to tell her that the warrant had been released accidentally and ask her “to prevent any further dissemination of this document by copying, sharing, or using it for further publication.” The sheriff’s office also said at the time that the warrant should not have been released, according to the Record.</p><p data-block-key=\"5v52a\">A <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/SJSheriff/posts/pfbid02CYG9zgTsvyiUiARr92Tag3zHkf9ncz2ShJmmAXM1aqbsvAYZ5nE8wqV51uiR2BrXl\">statement</a> from the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office called the warrant “highly sensitive” and said Edwards had violated a court order by releasing it.</p><p data-block-key=\"9j3a3\">“At no time was the warrant ‘unsealed’ and its release may have negatively impacted our investigation,” the statement said. “We consulted with the District Attorney’s Office, and we are in agreement that we could not allow this egregious violation of trust and criminal act by a 27-year veteran of our justice community (who knew better and is held to a higher standard) not to be accountable for her actions.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8g275\">Two deputies <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/sheriffs-deputies-question-reporter-at-her-home/\">visited</a> Leathley at her Stockton home on Aug. 30, 2024, to question her about the release of the search warrant and a “cease and desist” they claimed she was sent. When contacted at the time, a sheriff’s department spokesperson told the Tracker that there was an ongoing investigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"bbaei\">Edwards was ultimately arrested in November and charged with <a href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=166.\">willful disobedience of a court order</a>, according to a <a href=\"https://www.sjgov.org/department/da/news/press-release/2024/11/14/court-clerk-arrested-for-violating-court-order\">news release</a> from District Attorney Ronald Freitas.</p><p data-block-key=\"enmqa\">“Violating the sanctity of a Court Order, especially a sealed warrant, is not only an assault on our justice system but puts law enforcement and potential witnesses in harm’s way,” Freitas said. “We will hold all those involved in this case fully responsible for this violation of our courts and our justice system.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6rce0\">Edwards’ arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 4.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"h24b2\">In California, a former San Joaquin County Superior Court clerk was charged on Nov. 13, 2024, with violating a court order, above, by releasing a copy of a sealed search warrant to Stockton Record reporter Aaron Leathley in November 2023.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [
"Aaron Leathley (The Stockton Record)"
],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Leak Case"
],
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},
{
"title": "NBC, local affiliate subpoenaed ahead of Massachusetts murder trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nbc-local-affiliate-subpoenaed-ahead-of-massachusetts-murder-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2025-04-01T15:47:55.512894Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-01T15:47:55.512894Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-01T15:47:43.496339Z",
"date": "2024-11-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Dedham",
"longitude": -71.16616,
"latitude": 42.24177,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ehs0y\">WBTS-CD, a Needham, Massachusetts-based television affiliate of NBC News, was subpoenaed on Nov. 12, 2024, for recordings, notes and communications in connection with a murder trial in Dedham. The request was reissued on Nov. 20 to also target NBC, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"53lc6\">In July 2023, NBC News released a <a href=\"https://www.nbc.com/today/video/new-questions-emerge-surrounding-taillight-murder/NBCN130309517\">preview</a> of a “Dateline” segment in which correspondent Dennis Murphy interviewed Karen Read, who <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/03/28/nx-s1-5343433/karen-read-second-murder-trial\">stands accused</a> of the murder of her boyfriend in a case that has captured national attention.</p><p data-block-key=\"c6ahs\">Prosecutors <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nbc-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-massachusetts-murder-trial\">filed a request</a> with the court two months later, asking that it compel NBC to turn over the full interview recording, including any unaired footage. Massachusetts does not have a formally recognized reporter’s shield law protecting journalists from being forced to disclose newsgathering materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"4090u\">Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone struck down that subpoena in October, noting that the prosecutors had not followed the required procedures for obtaining materials from out-of-state, nonparty witnesses.</p><p data-block-key=\"7jdsm\">After the case against Read ended in a mistrial in July 2024, NBC aired the full segment — titled “<a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/in-the-news/dateline-full-episode-night-of-the-noreaster-rcna176801\">The Night of the Nor’easter</a>” — on Oct. 18. The following month, prosecutors tried to obtain the interview recordings and notes again, attempting to get around the subpoena procedures by requesting them from WBTS-CD.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ho6\">At the same time, a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/abc-local-affiliate-subpoenaed-ahead-of-massachusetts-murder-trial\">similar request</a> was made to ABC News and its local affiliate, WCVB-TV, seeking records from an interview Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman conducted with Read.</p><p data-block-key=\"2mh15\">In addition to the recordings and notes from the interviews with Read, both requests also explicitly sought copies of any off-the-record or redacted statements, and any communications between the national networks and Read.</p><p data-block-key=\"ddqlh\">After the request to WBTS-CD was reissued eight days later to include NBC News, no further court records were filed concerning the request. Neither NBC nor WBTS-CD responded to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"7u1b3\">However, Cannone struck down the request to ABC on Dec. 9, ruling that there was no legal basis for the prosecutors’ argument that serving the local affiliate exempted them from following procedures for subpoenaing out-of-state parties.</p><p data-block-key=\"bjqdm\">“To hold otherwise would allow a party to circumvent the procedural safeguards agreed to by all states that ensure necessary witnesses and records are available for criminal prosecution even if outside the state and that resident witnesses are not needlessly required to travel to other states to testify,” Cannone wrote in her decision.</p><p data-block-key=\"cnafs\">The Tracker was unable to confirm whether the court applied the same finding to the WBTS-CD and NBC subpoena, and so is recording its status as “unknown.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/WBTS-CD__NBC_subpoena.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jfexr\">A portion of Massachusetts prosecutors’ Nov. 12, 2024, motion to force NBC television affiliate WBTS-CD to disclose unedited footage from “Dateline” correspondent Dennis Murphy’s interview with Karen Read ahead of her retrial on murder charges.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"legal_order_venue": "State",
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"state": {
"name": "Massachusetts",
"abbreviation": "MA"
},
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"NBC News",
"WBTS-CD"
],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Indiana student paper says state politician’s posts about outlet threatening",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/indiana-student-paper-says-state-politicians-posts-about-outlet-threatening/",
"first_published_at": "2024-11-15T13:59:51.215163Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-15T13:59:51.215163Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-15T13:57:38.241858Z",
"date": "2024-11-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Bloomington",
"longitude": -86.52639,
"latitude": 39.16533,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3agm5\">The student newspaper at Indiana University Bloomington was targeted on social media by a state politician on Nov. 12, 2024. The outlet said the posts were intended to chill its reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"1vu7d\">Micah Beckwith — Indiana’s newly elected lieutenant governor and a <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWcRrcvWYds\">self-described Christian nationalist</a> who serves as a pastor in Noblesville — used his official accounts on the social platforms <a href=\"https://x.com/MicahBeckwith/status/1856349131981087004\">X</a> and <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MicahBeckwith4Indiana/posts/pfbid023ABAZHTPH74LRiEZ78EeyP7fmPtc8XppbWoN5P1JvWceXHYsT2oPwDnknMzduZwAl\">Facebook</a> to criticize the Indiana Daily Student’s Nov. 7 front cover. The cover featured an illustration of President-elect Donald Trump overlaid with unfavorable quotes from his former allies.</p><p data-block-key=\"8u20b\">“This is WOKE propaganda at its finest and why most of America looks at higher education indoctrination centers like IU as a complete joke and waste of money,” Beckwith wrote. “This type of elitist leftist propaganda needs to stop or we will be happy to stop it for them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eic1h\">Beckwith also asserted that the publication was “Your tax dollars at work.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9lgeg\">IDS <a href=\"https://www.idsnews.com/article/2024/11/beckwith-ids-threatens-iu-indiana-braun\">reported</a> that Beckwith’s posts were meant as a threat to both the newspaper and the university.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Indiana Lieutenant Governor-elect Micah Beckwith threatened the IDS and IU in an X post Tuesday over the IDS’ Nov. 7 front cover, which featured a photo illustration of President-elect Donald Trump with quotes from his former political allies. <a href=\"https://t.co/JYckyhJ3mL\">https://t.co/JYckyhJ3mL</a></p>— Indiana Daily Student (@idsnews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/idsnews/status/1856427001550094464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 12, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3agm5\">Co-Editor-in-Chief Jacob Spudich defended the newspaper’s cover, telling the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the intention was to engage multiple interpretations.<br/><br/> “If you are somebody who didn’t vote for Trump and are feeling devastated, you can look at and just kind of be, like, ‘Wow, all this stuff happened yet he still won,’” Spudich said. “And if you're a supporter of Trump, you can look at all this, all the quotes and everything that his former allies and advisers were saying, and say, like, ‘Wow, all this was said about him, yet he still triumphed and won the election.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"ntds\">Spudich added that the paper welcomes any criticism of its content, but will staunchly defend the First Amendment and the freedoms it grants the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"38idi\">Beckwith, when reached by phone, told the Tracker that he also respects press freedom and that his intention was to identify the coverage as symptomatic of an issue he sees within the university system as a whole.</p><p data-block-key=\"3rqtt\">“It’s not just the student newspaper. I think it’s a general problem that we’ve seen at IU over the course of the last few decades, where it is, again, silencing conservative viewpoints,” Beckwith said. “So I think it’s appropriate to say, ‘OK, our tax dollars are going to this: Is it giving a fair and honest voice to everyone involved?’”</p><p data-block-key=\"euujj\">Beckwith clarified that this is not an official stance of Gov.-elect Mike Braun’s administration: “This is just me calling out something that needs to be addressed and bringing it into sunlight.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5oftl\">Beckwith also said that the university’s board of trustees or the president of the college should be involved in evaluating whether the student publication is being “fair and honest.” In an <a href=\"https://www.idsnews.com/article/2024/11/beckwith-alleges-covert-funding-suppression-at-iu-during-interview-with-ids-read-the-transcript\">interview with IDS</a>, Beckwith said the state should investigate whether the university is using taxpayer money in “covert” ways to support the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"bs86\">Spudich told the Tracker that IDS is financially and editorially independent from the university, so doesn’t receive any tax dollars. The newspaper reported that it generates its revenue through advertisements and events, and pays a tax to the university for the space it operates out of on campus.</p><p data-block-key=\"bjcv5\">While any threats to the press are concerning, Spudich told the Tracker, the student journalists remain undeterred.</p><p data-block-key=\"2t0ve\">“For the most part, we have an incredibly resilient newsroom,” he said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP24061574217163.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"8gv2s\">The Indiana Daily Student, the student newspaper at Indiana University Bloomington (pictured above), was targeted on Nov. 12, 2024, on social media by Lt. Gov.-elect Micah Beckwith, who accused it of engaging in “elitist leftist propaganda.”</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
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"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Indiana",
"abbreviation": "IN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Indiana [University Bloomington] Daily Student"
],
"tags": [
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
}
]
