Resource
Training
For Journalists
ProJourn regularly organizes legal workshops for journalists, in both English and Spanish. As a program operated by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, with the support of law firms across the country, we have access to a wide range of legal resources and experienced attorneys.
Reporters Committee‘s Resources
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which operates ProJourn, publishes a number of free, online legal guides and resources to help journalists better understand and assert their newsgathering rights.
The Reporters Committee’s legal guides cover topics including state open records and meetings laws, access to court documents and proceedings, recording laws, shield laws, and more. The Reporters Committee also offers topical reporting resources that discuss legal issues journalists should consider when covering elections, reporting on protests, vetting stories prior to publication, and more.
ProJourn‘s Resources
ProJourn regularly organizes legal workshops – both in person and online.
The Reporters Committee, through its ProJourn and Local Legal Initiative programs, is conducting a series of legal trainings for journalists focused on their newsgathering rights when covering elections and protests. We’ve teamed up with the International Women’s Media Foundation as part of their Newsroom Safety Across America initiative and have been traveling to several states to conduct these crucial trainings. To date, we’ve trained over 400 journalists across seven states.
ProJourn organizes open records workshops, during which attorneys provide an overview of the Freedom of Information Act and state public records laws and highlight how journalists can use these laws to access information vital to their reporting.
ProJourn also hosts pre-publication review workshops, during which attorneys provide tips to assess the legal risks posed by a story, as well as discuss how to mitigate these risks and determine when journalists should seek assistance for in-depth legal vetting.
Resource Downloads
Davis Wright Tremaine and Microsoft attorneys drafted some helpful legal tips for ProJourn jurisdictions.
Please note that the information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only.