Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP)

The organization has previously received grants from left-of-center institutions including the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and Open Society Foundations. ^{2 3 4}

Background

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) provides legal services to media and journalism groups such as accessing public records, filing amicus briefings, making open record and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and protecting confidential sources. ^{5 1 6}

The RCFP claims to provide general and specific media law trainings for reporters and newsrooms. ⁷ Training sessions include, “How to Know When You Need a Lawyer,” “Gathering the News Safely and Legally,” “Understanding Defamation and Libel,” “A Reporter’s Guide to Pre-Publication Review,” “First Amendment Handbook,” “Election Legal Guide,” “Anti-SLAPP Legal Guide,” “Reporter’s Recording Guide,” “Open Government Guide,” and “Police, Protesters, and the Press.” ⁶

Programs and Initiatives

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) provides hotlines or lines of communication for reporters on specific media events. ^{6 7}

In 2020, the RCFP used a $10 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to launch the Local Legal Initiative, a media educational resource. ⁶

The Seattle-based Davis Wright Tremaine LLP law firm and Microsoft launched ProJourn as a pilot program in Washington state and California in 2020 and 2021. RCFP began operating the program after funding from the Knight Foundation and later expanded the program into Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Texas, and Illinois. ProJourn prioritizes newsrooms that “are independently owned, community-focused, located near news deserts and can’t afford to pay legal fees, and include in their coverage underserved communities,” Editor and Publisher reported. In 2023, ProJourn organized about 2,500 pro bono hours, and represented more than $2 million of free legal work. Of that, 75 percent was on pre-publication review, and 25 percent was on public records access. ⁶

Significant Cases

In 1974, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) filed a legal challenge against former President Richard Nixon over the latter’s control over presidential papers and tapes following his resignation. ^{8 9}

In the 1980 case of Kissinger v. Reporters Committee, the Supreme Court rejected the RCFP’s and several journalists’ requests for notes and records of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. ⁸

In 1989, the group was involved in the Supreme Court case U.S. Department of Justice v. Reporters Committee over a CBS News request to access FBI-held information on crime-linked individuals. The court sided with the U.S Department of Justice, claiming the FBI was able to withhold information due to a provision of the Freedom of Information Act that protects against invasion of personal privacy. ⁸

In July 2024, the Reporters Committee led a coalition of media organizations in filing an amicus brief in the Indiana Supreme Court regarding the standard for awarding attorney’s fees under the state’s public records law. ⁶

Funding

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) has previously received funding from the Open Society Foundations (OSF). ²

From 2016 through 2023, the MacArthur Foundation contributed $1,975,000 to the RCFP. ⁴

In 2017, the Ford Foundation committed $300,000 over three years to the RCFP. ³

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation contributed $390,000 to the RCFP in December 2023. ¹⁰

The Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund contributed $340,635 to the RCFP in June 2023. ¹⁰

Leadership

Bruce D. Brown is the president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP). He began working for the organization in 2012. He was previously a journalist and served as partner in the Washington office of the law firm BakerHostetler. Brown has been a lecturer at the University of Virginia Law School, and he co-directed its First Amendment Clinic. He is also a former adjunct faculty member in Georgetown University’s master’s program in professional studies in journalism. Brown has been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, The Guardian, The Economist, USA Today, and the National Law Journal. Before joining BakerHostetler, Brown was a federal court reporter for Legal Times. ¹¹

Gabe Rottman is the vice president of policy. He previously worked for PEN America; was the deputy director for the Center for Democracy and Technology’s Freedom, Security and Technology Project; and was the lead federal legislative and regulatory counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. ¹²

Jenn Topper is the vice president of communications. Previously, she was the communications director at the Sunlight Foundation, and managed media relations at Free Press. ¹³

Danny Yu is the vice president of finance and operations. He was previously the vice president of finance and administration at J Street. ¹⁴