Testimonials

Below are samples of unprompted testimonials sent to the Reporters Committee from journalists who've been helped by our staff and resources. If you are a working journalist in need of media law assistance, please contact our 24-7 free hotline at 800-336-4243, or send an email to hotline@rcfp.org.

Student journalists in need of assistance should contact the Student Press Law Center at 703-807-1904.

Reporters Committee helps blogger fight subpoena for confidential sources

The Reporters Committee filed a friend-of-the-court brief and helped recommend local counsel to blogger KC Johnson after Duke University subpoenaed his interview notes from stories posted about rape allegations against student lacrosse players. The university eventually dropped its subpoena request. (Read the story here.)

Wrote Johnson: "This reversal of fortune — from the seeming inevitability of my involuntarily turning over confidential, unpublished exchanges with hundreds of sources to Duke withdrawing its subpoenas facing a ruling that likely would have tarnished the university’s reputation nationally — testified to the impact that the Reporters Committee had on my case, and confirmed the high quality of the legal representation they helped me obtain. I am very, very grateful."

Read the entirety of Johnson's letter.