2016 Freedom of the Press Awards

Now online: Photos, video and live drawings from the Reporters Committee's 2016 Freedom of the Press Awards honoring Tom Brokaw of NBC News (above with Lester Holt), Eve Burton and the Hearst Office of General Counsel, and Alberto Ibargüen and Eric Newton of the Knight Foundation.

U.S. police body camera access policies and laws

The Reporters Committee maintains an interactive map of police body camera access policy and law across the United States. Check out this regularly modified feature, and send us your city and state updates.

News

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Join us May 23 in New York City for our gala and First Amendment Awards presentation
Electronic surveillance: What reporters should know about the law
05/12/2017
A new report from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press explores the legal framework for the government to obtain information about journalists’ communications. “Electronic Communications Surveillance: What Journalists and...
Statement on arrest of Public News Service reporter in West Virginia
05/10/2017
On Tuesday, West Virginia Capitol Police arrested Public News Service Reporter Dan Heyman in the state capitol building. Heyman was attempting to ask questions of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price as Price entered a closed-door...
ABC World News Tonight Anchor David Muir to emcee Reporters Committee's annual Freedom of the Press Awards
05/05/2017
On May 23, 2017, at the Pierre Hotel in New York, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press will hold its annual gala and present its Freedom of the Press Awards recognizing career achievements in protecting press freedom.   ...
Reporters Committee receives $300,000 from Ford Foundation
05/05/2017
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is thrilled to announce new support from the Ford Foundation. The Ford Foundation is committing $300,000 over two years toward RCFP’s work to provide legal services for journalists and news...
Here's what we've done in so far 2017 to protect press freedom
05/03/2017
Already this year, under the new administration, journalists have faced new attacks on and challenges to freedom of the press. Here’s what we are doing to push back, defend reporters, and protect the flow of information to the public....

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The Place to Start

The Digital Journalist's Legal Guide has the answers and links to Reporters Committee resources for all your questions about the legal issues involved in gathering and disseminating news.

FOIA Services

Find out everything you need to know about public records access:

• Read our federal and state Open Government Guides

• Read our Federal FOIA Appeals Guide

• Visit iFOIA.org, our FOIA request tracking system

• Go to FOIA.wiki to get more details about the federal FOIA, and make your own contributions to the wiki

 

Our Mission

To protect the right to gather and distribute news; to keep government accountable by ensuring access to public records, meetings and courtrooms; and to preserve the principles of free speech and unfettered press, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.