How political divisions are threatening a bipartisan bill to protect press freedom

The day after the presidential election, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement warning of a hostile climate for press freedom under a second Trump term. That comes as advocates are urging lawmakers to pass a bill that would protect journalists from government spying and other interference. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Jodie Ginsberg.
Geoff Bennett:
The day after the presidential election, the nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement warning of a potentially hostile climate for press freedom under a second Trump term.
It read in part: “Legal persecution, imprisonment, physical violence, and even killings have, sadly, become familiar threats for journalists across the world. They must not now also become commonplace in the United States, where threats of violence and online harassment have in recent years become routine.”
That’s as advocates are urging Senate lawmakers to pass a bipartisan bill that would protect journalists from government spying and other interference.
Jodie Ginsberg is the CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists and joins us now.
Thanks for being here.
Jodie Ginsberg, CEO, Committee to Protect Journalists: Thank you for having me.
Geoff Bennett:
So, your organization and others have raised concerns about what Trump’s second term could mean for press freedoms. What are your specific worries and what have you seen already that gives you pause?
Jodie Ginsberg:
I think we need to think about two things specifically about a new Trump administration.
The first is around legal threats and the second is around regulation. There are many others that we can talk about, but those are the ones I think we really need to be alive to in the second administration.
Already, in the days leading up to the election, Trump issued a host of legal threats against organizations like The New York Times, CBS, and others. We might expect that — to see that — more of that in the new Trump administration, personal legal cases. He’s suing, I think, The New York Times and CBS for $10 billion each.
Personal legal threats, but also potentially challenges to pieces of legislation that have for decades protected the press against vexatious lawsuits like the Supreme Court case Sullivan v. New York Times, which allows the press to publish public interest information and be protected from being sued for defamation.
Geoff Bennett:
I want to ask you about a more recent piece of legislation. This is the PRESS Act, which is designed to protect journalists from being surveilled by federal law enforcement and it would limit the government’s ability to make journalists disclose their sources, among other protections.
This bill had bipartisan support in the House. Time is now running out for it to be passed in the Senate. Why is this piece of legislation, in your view, so critical?
Jodie Ginsberg:
It’s really urgent that we pass this federal shield law.
So, some states have these federal protections, which essentially means that journalists’ information, journalists’ sources can’t be subpoenaed. Information from whistle-blowers can’t be subpoenaed. It’s really important that we have that federal shield law to protect journalists at the federal level.
We know that Trump is interested in going after whistle-blowers, people who leak. And it’s absolutely essential that they are protected and that journalists’ sources are protected and that journalists are allowed to do their job.
Geoff Bennett:
At the same time, I think it’s fair to say that journalists and journalism could benefit from some self-reflection.
And I say that because the percentage of Americans who say they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the mass media has fallen to a record low, according to a new Gallup survey, to 31 percent. And there are people who say that Trump’s decisive win really just is a complete repudiation of the news media.
How do you see it and how can the news media rebuild trust?
Jodie Ginsberg:
I think the news media can rebuild trust by continuing to do what journalism does, which is to publish news and information in the public interest.
And while it’s true that there has been this drop-off in trust at national level, people remain highly trusting of their local media, which often has the most impact. If you think about it, the information that’s provided to you by your local radio station, your local TV station about what’s happening in your local schools, what’s happening on your local roads, what’s happening in the local health care system, those are absolutely essential.
Those are the areas that have been totally hollowed out financially in recent years. We’re seeing so-called news deserts pop up across the United States, which means, effectively, we have no independent journalists able to hold people to account, able to hold local administrations to account for spending of people’s tax dollars, for example.
So, to rebuild trust, we have to continue to invest in that local journalism, because people do trust that and people rely on it.
Geoff Bennett:
Finally, I want to ask you about the dramatic rise in violence and risks facing journalists around the globe.
A CPJ report says at least 137 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon since the war started, making it the deadliest period for journalists since the CPJ began gathering data back in 1992.
In addition to just the tragic loss of life, what’s the material impact of this deadly atmosphere for journalists?
Jodie Ginsberg:
Well, the material impact is, it’s harder and harder to get information out of Gaza about what’s happening, about the impact of the war.
There’s almost no independent journalists now able to operate freely in Northern Gaza, where we know that there has been this program of forced removals of Gazans, what other organizations are calling ethnic cleansing, many human rights organizations are calling genocide.
We don’t have the journalists in numbers there to provide the information about what’s happening. That’s why we need journalists. So the impact of this high level of killings, coupled with journalists being repeatedly displaced, facing food shortages, fuel shortages, communications challenges, is seriously undermining our ability to understand what’s happening inside Gaza.
Geoff Bennett:
Jodie Ginsberg with the Committee to Protect Journalists, thanks for being here. Appreciate it.