Tables and tickets now available for the Reporters Committee 2012 First Amendment Awards Dinner

The Cost of a Free Press

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press offers an unrivaled breadth of service, materials and knowledge on all aspects of media law. Yet in the more than 40 years since our founding, no journalist has ever been charged for our services.

Numerous foundations, media companies and individual donors have shown their confidence in the Reporters Committee and their appreciation for the work we do with generous financial support. These grants and donations are essential to our continued operations and are very much appreciated.

Winners of the Reporters Committee 2010 First Amendment Awards (l-r): Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward, Lesley Stahl and Kurt Wimmer.

The Reporters Committee also raises operating revenue from two semi-annual fundraisers: the Barbecue With a View and our First Amendment Awards Dinner. The next awards dinner is slated for Sept. 27, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Demand for Reporters Committee services and resources is higher than it has ever been, and we continue to expand our offerings to meet the evolving needs of journalists in all media. The costs of these offerings, however, continues to increase, unfortunately at a time when donations are softer across the board.

Nevertheless, the Reporters Committee will never charge a journalist in need. That is a central tenet established by our founders and one that remains strongly held by current leadership.

But it makes the need for your financial help all the greater. You believe in a free press, a free society and the promise of the First Amendment that people living in a participatory democracy have the right to know what their government is doing. With a donation to the Reporters Committee, you are helping us to defend those principles.

Thank you.