Free press

A free press is the public's primary tool for accountability. Most citizens do not have access to government documents, court filings, agency budgets, or the rooms where decisions are made; reporters do. Without journalists able to investigate and publish without fear of retaliation, the public lacks the information that democracy depends on. The First Amendment protects this function because the founders understood that government retaliation against unfriendly reporting is one of the oldest moves in the authoritarian playbook.

The threats tracked here include the prosecution of journalists for newsgathering activity, retaliatory action against critical outlets, expulsion of press from briefings and public proceedings, selective access restrictions for outlets out of favor, government-backed legal threats intended to bankrupt rather than win, and the strategic use of regulatory power — licensing, antitrust, broadcast standards — as leverage over coverage. The standard applies regardless of which administration is doing the leveraging, and the inclusion criterion is the action, not the politics of the outlet affected.

Further reading: National Constitution Center Interactive Constitution — First Amendment.