Analysis

Original analyses on press freedom trends and monthly incident roundups written by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker staff with features on First Amendment issues published by our partner organizations.

Featured

Nearly 100 journalists assaulted already this year

Published

August 28, 2025

Written by

Kirstin McCudden
The silence and the siege

Media independence and journalists’ safety are under threat, as Trump uses suits to cudgel news outlets and his immigration crackdown endangers those covering it.

Published

July 31, 2025

Written by

Stephanie Sugars
Media in the courthouse

Published

July 18, 2025

Written by

Stephanie Sugars

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Latest

How the Espionage Act morphed into a dangerous tool used to prosecute sources and threaten journalists

Since the Nixon administration, the federal government has tried to use the Espionage Act of 1917 as a tool against the press several times.

Published

June 19, 2017

Written by

Peter Sterne
America’s ‘Official Secrets Act’ — the long, sad history of the 100 year-old Espionage Act

When President Woodrow Wilson advocated for press censorship during World War I, Congress responded by passing the Espionage Act of 1917. One hundred years later, the law still poses a serious threat to journalists' First Amendment rights.

Published

June 15, 2017

Written by

Peter Sterne
Edward Snowden on Trump administration’s recent arrest of an alleged journalistic source

Published

June 6, 2017

Written by

Edward Snowden

Analysis

Featured

Nearly 100 journalists assaulted already this year

The silence and the siege

Media in the courthouse

Latest

How the Espionage Act morphed into a dangerous tool used to prosecute sources and threaten journalists

America’s ‘Official Secrets Act’ — the long, sad history of the 100 year-old Espionage Act

Edward Snowden on Trump administration’s recent arrest of an alleged journalistic source