Press Freedom

Surveilling journalists to discover their sources. Using the Espionage Act to prosecute whistleblowers for disclosing information to the press that the public should know. Arresting and attacking journalists reporting on social unrest. Criminalizing the kinds of activities that journalists engage in routinely and as a necessary part of their work. Serious threats, all, to the freedom of the press.

This blog channel highlights the Institute’s ongoing work to preserve and strengthen free press protections in the digital age.

Deep Dive: Press Freedom

This Is Not a Moment to Settle With Trump

By Jameel Jaffer
February 4, 2025
Quick Take: Press Freedom

Institute’s Jameel Jaffer Discusses Assange’s Plea Deal on "Democracy Now!"

June 27, 2024
Deep Dive: Press Freedom

The Assange Plea and Press Freedom

By Jameel Jaffer
June 26, 2024
Institute Update: Press Freedom

Knight Institute Joins Committee to Protect Journalists and Other Groups Urging Department of Justice to Drop Charges Against Julian Assange

May 17, 2024
Quick Take: Press Freedom

Institute’s Carrie DeCell Discusses Possible Assange Extradition on PBS NewsHour

February 21, 2024
Deep Dive: Press Freedom

The Biden Administration Should Continue Rebuffing NSO Group’s Latest Lobbying Efforts.

By Talya Nevins , Nicole Mo & Carrie DeCell
November 29, 2023
Deep Dive: The Future of Press Freedom: Scholars Series, Press Freedom

Political Tensions and the Democratic Press

Advocates for press freedom must confront the objectivity-subjectivity and institutionalism-populism divides.

By Gregory Magarian
October 26, 2023
Institute Update: Press Freedom

An Introduction to Our Project: The Future of Press Freedom

A cross-disciplinary initiative to identify and protect the role of the press

By RonNell Andersen Jones & Sonja R. West
October 16, 2023
Institute Update: Press Freedom

Call for Papers: New Voices in Press Freedom

The Knight Institute invites submissions from junior scholars exploring the news in changing times.

By RonNell Andersen Jones , Sonja R. West & Katy Glenn Bass
October 16, 2023
Deep Dive: Press Freedom

First Step in Police Reform: Protect the First Amendment

Police should ensure that journalists and members of the public acting as newsgatherers are able to work without interference

By Joel Simon & Katy Glenn Bass
June 27, 2023

Research

Institute Update

Call for Participation: Federal Funding and the First Amendment

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Litigation

Lawsuit

Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York v. USDA

A case challenging USDA’s purge of climate-related webpages.
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Research

Essay Series

Regardless of Frontiers: The First Amendment and the Exchange of Ideas Across Borders

A project about surveillance, censorship, and the changing role of the international border
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Podcast

Podcast

"Views on First: Speech & the Border"

At the frontiers of censorship and surveillance
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