(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



DOJ announces plans to revoke critical protections for journalists [1]

['Reporters Committee', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright']

Date: 2025-04-25 21:42:08+00:00

“Strong protections for journalists serve the American public by safeguarding the free flow of information."

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice released a memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi directing the agency to rescind the current version of the “news media guidelines,” and publish a new policy. The guidelines, which have been in place since the Nixon administration, detail how and under what circumstances federal prosecutors can issue subpoenas, court orders, or search warrants for journalists’ testimony, work product, or other records.

The guidelines were most recently updated in 2022 and expressly prohibited the Justice Department from using subpoenas or other investigative tools against journalists who possess and publish classified information obtained in newsgathering, with only narrow exceptions.

Responding to the announcement, Reporters Committee President Bruce D. Brown made the following statement:

“We have seen this announcement, but we haven’t seen the language of the new policy.

“Some of the most consequential reporting in U.S. history — from Watergate to warrantless wiretapping after 9/11 — was and continues to be made possible because reporters have been able to protect the identities of confidential sources and uncover and report stories that matter to people across the political spectrum.

“Strong protections for journalists serve the American public by safeguarding the free flow of information.

“We’ll wait to see what the policy looks like, but we know reporters will still do their jobs, and there is no shortage of legal support to back them up.”

The Reporters Committee regularly files friend-of-the-court briefs and its attorneys represent journalists and news organizations pro bono in court cases that involve First Amendment freedoms, the newsgathering rights of journalists and access to public information. Stay up-to-date on our work by signing up for our newsletters and following us on Bluesky, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.rcfp.org/doj-announces-plans-to-revoke-news-media-guidelines/

Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.