Over 80 free press organizations issued a statement calling the Trump administration’s attacks on the press a threat to American democracy. The groups cited egregious attempts to penalize and intimidate the press including falsely charging the media of covering up and manipulating the news. (National Coalition Against Censorship, March 2, 2017)
Given the recent onslaught of attacks, a coalition of prominent press organizations are planning to set up a news site to track press freedom violations in the United States. The idea grew out of a meeting in January when the organizations discussed the lack of a database for incidents. the job description for a reporter for the news site includes documenting border arrests and shakedowns of journalists, confiscation of equipment used by reporters and photojournalists, leak prosecutions and other types of violations of the rights of journalists. (The Poynter Institute, March 1, 2017, by Benjamin Mullin)