Current State of Press Freedom Under Attack

Scale of the Crisis

Legal and Physical Threats: In the United States, there were 49 journalist arrests in 2024 compared to only 15 in 2023. Politicians' open disdain for the media has trickled down to the public, with journalists facing harassment, intimidation and assault while working. More than a dozen states have proposed or enacted laws to limit journalists' access to public spaces.

Economic Devastation: Roughly one-third of American newspapers operating in 2005 have now shuttered. Since 2022, more than 8,000 journalists have been laid off in the US. Over the last 15 years, 2,100 newspapers have closed, leaving 1,800 communities without any local news outlets.

SLAPP Litigation Epidemic: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) cases have increased substantially since 2015. These unfounded lawsuits exploit power disparities, with corporations and wealthy individuals spending vast sums to bury journalists in costly legal proceedings regardless of outcome.

Strategic Legal Protections

Federal Legislation Priorities

Pass Federal Shield Laws: The House passed the PRESS Act (Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act) with unanimous support, creating privilege for journalists to protect confidential sources and information. Currently, 49 states have some shield law protection, but they vary considerably in scope.

Enact Federal Anti-SLAPP Laws: Rep. Jamie Raskin introduced federal anti-SLAPP legislation to create national, uniform rules instead of the current patchwork. Many states have anti-SLAPP laws, but this leads to forum shopping where plaintiffs target states like Virginia with weaker protections.

Strengthen FOIA and Transparency: Push leaders to strengthen FOIA and state open records laws. Ensure requesters can be reimbursed for costs when agencies wrongly withhold documents. Ensure states provide independent review authority for FOIA denials through empowered ombudsmen.

Legal Support Infrastructure

Emergency Legal Defense: States should provide legal support to SLAPP victims and prosecute perpetrators for abuses against journalists. Organizations should offer rapid legal response teams and funds for journalists facing frivolous lawsuits.

Secure Communication Systems: Support organizations like Forbidden Stories that operate "SafeBox Networks" where journalists can securely send sensitive information, knowing their stories will be protected beyond borders, governments, and censorship.

Economic Sustainability Solutions

Multi-Pronged Financial Support

Government Investment: The Rebuild Local News coalition proposes delivering $3-5 billion into the local news economy through tax credits, philanthropy, businesses, and consumers. This could double the number of local reporters and eliminate most news deserts while preserving editorial independence.

Public Media Expansion: Give the Corporation for Public Broadcasting more funds specifically for local journalism and flexibility to support high-quality public radio stations. Many public radio stations have increased local reporting commitments and can be crucial parts of local journalism solutions.

Revenue Diversification: Community newspapers need to transform advertising departments beyond print and digital ads to offer full digital services including search engine optimization, social media management, and comprehensive marketing solutions for local businesses.

Innovation and Collaboration Models

Partnerships and Networks: Develop partnerships and networks stressing collaboration instead of competition. These can unite metro dailies with smaller weeklies, independent and chain-owned papers, or nonprofits and for-profit dailies to share resources and coverage.

Community Correspondent Networks: Revive the historical practice where community newspapers relied on networks of "correspondents" who submitted weekly columns about neighborhood news and were paid by the word, supplementing professional journalists.

University Partnerships: Schools of journalism should produce applied research assisting newspaper owners in developing sustainable business strategies and measurement tools, rather than focusing solely on training future journalists.

Community-Based Support Strategies

Civic Engagement and Education

Public Education on Press Value: Political leaders and teachers should reiterate the extent to which we all benefit from professional journalists who hold those in power to account. Press freedom is one of the most fundamental pillars of American democracy.

Community Ownership Models: Steve Waldman's "Replanting Strategy" shows how communities can be brought into newspaper ownership and management. Proposals like the National Trust for Local News could facilitate local engagement and control.

Subscription and Donation Drives: The most direct way to support quality journalism is contributing to local news organizations, national outlets, nonprofit newsrooms, or public radio stations. This provides immediate financial support for journalism operations.

Grassroots Organizing

Community Media Networks: Support ethnic and community media organizations that perform service journalism and prepare immigrant communities to engage civically. These outlets often provide crucial hyperlocal coverage and community identity functions.

Information Literacy: UNESCO supports 20 countries developing educational policies in media and information literacy to combat disinformation and conspiracy theories that threaten informed public debate.

Technology and Security Solutions

Digital Infrastructure

High-Speed Internet Access: Address the technological deficit facing rural communities lacking high-speed digital infrastructure. Many potential journalism solutions require reliable internet connectivity for both news organizations and communities.

Platform Accountability: Develop clear policies requiring digital platforms to provide better protection for journalists and fairer compensation to local news organizations for content, while combating online harassment of journalists.

Safety and Security

Training and Protection: UNESCO has trained over 30,000 judicial operators from 150 countries and 11,500 security forces from 160 countries on safety of journalists and freedom of expression. Expand these training programs domestically.

Rapid Response Systems: Create rapid response mechanisms for when journalists face harassment, legal threats, or physical violence. International standards require public officials to be open to scrutiny and tolerate higher levels of criticism.

International and Collaborative Approaches

Global Solidarity

Cross-Border Cooperation: International organizations should monitor compliance with human rights standards, assist countries lacking infrastructure, impose targeted sanctions, and raise global awareness to mobilize support for press freedom.

Investigative Networks: Support organizations like Forbidden Stories that continue investigations when journalists are silenced, ensuring "killing the journalist won't kill the story" through international cooperation and secure information sharing.

Monitoring and Accountability

Data Collection: The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, supported by the Committee to Protect Journalists and press freedom groups, documents violations from journalist arrests to border stops and equipment seizures, providing crucial transparency.

Policy Impact Assessment: Initiatives based on public service media principles found in healthy democracies—providing information across all social groups and fostering civic engagement—are better positioned to rebuild sustainable local news systems.

Implementation Framework

The evidence shows that protecting and strengthening press freedom requires coordinated action across multiple domains simultaneously:

1. Immediate Legal Protections: Pass federal shield laws and anti-SLAPP legislation while strengthening state-level protections

2. Economic Infrastructure: Implement multi-billion dollar support through tax credits, public funding, and innovative revenue models

3. Community Engagement: Build grassroots support through education, local ownership, and civic participation

4. Technology Solutions: Ensure digital infrastructure, platform accountability, and journalist security systems

5. Global Cooperation: Participate in international networks for protection, investigation, and accountability

The stakes could not be higher. Seventy million residents (one-fifth of the US population) live in communities without easy access to credible local news that holds together democracy and society at the grassroots level. Without coordinated action across all these fronts, the foundations of democratic accountability will continue to erode, leaving communities vulnerable to misinformation, corruption, and authoritarian manipulation.

Success requires recognizing that press freedom is not just a professional concern for journalists; it's a civic infrastructure essential for democratic participation that requires the same level of community investment and protection as roads, schools, and public safety.