A partnership built for newsroom safety

Since 2024, ProJourn has partnered with the International Women’s Media Foundation as part of the Newsroom Safety Across America Initiative, providing the legal component of a comprehensive safety training session. Physical and digital safety skills help a journalist stay safe in the field; knowing their legal rights helps them stay on the story.

IWMF launched the initiative in February 2024 to give journalists safety training ahead of that year’s presidential election, and it has since trained more than 1,500 journalists in person from hundreds of local and regional outlets, mostly in battleground states and rural areas.

What we cover

This election cycle, ProJourn has worked side by side with news organizations to make sure journalists know their rights while reporting on the ground. Our trainings cover:

• State-by-state election laws that affect newsgathering, including rules on where journalists may stand, whether they can photograph or record near polling places, and how close they can get to voters and election workers.
• Access to vote counts and recounts, including what public observation rights exist, how to request access, and what to do if access is denied.
• Interacting with law enforcement, including how to identify yourself as press, what to do if you’re ordered to leave or disperse, how to respond if your equipment is seized, and what to do if you’re detained or arrested.

Pro bono attorneys behind the reporting

ProJourn’s work doesn’t stop when the training ends. We engaged our team of pro bono attorneys from partner law firms to conduct pre-publication review of news stories providing crucial reporting on local and national elections. For a small newsroom without in-house counsel, a pre-publication review can be the difference between running an important story with confidence and holding it back for fear of a lawsuit. 

Law firm partners have researched and drafted training documents to ensure journalists are prepared to report on one of the most important news stories of our time. During this midterm election year, we trained journalists in Illinois, Washington, Florida, Maine, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

Where we’ve been

During this midterm election year, we trained journalists in Illinois, Washington, Florida, Maine, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington, D.C. Many of the attendees work for local and community outlets, often small newsrooms where a reporter may be covering an election with little or no access to legal guidance.