Public Interest Reporting Program Joins Conversations on Legal and Regulatory Challenges for Media
The Vance Center’s Public Interest Reporting Program staff participated in two events in January that explored urgent issues impacting the ability of U.S. media organizations to report safely.
Banners for the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism outside the school building in New York City. Photo credit: John Smock/Wikimedia Commons.
IRE NYC Watchdog Workshop
On January 24, Executive Director Alex Papachristou spoke on an extended panel at the NYC Watchdog Workshop hosted by the nonprofit organization Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE).
The two-part panel, “The Free Press and Legal Issues/Staying Safe in 2026,” covered safety and legal issues for journalists, from the newsroom to courtrooms. Papachristou was joined by Hoda Osman, Executive Editor of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, a Public Interest Reporting Program client, and Jodie Ginsberg, Chief Executive Officer of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Osman posed questions to Papachristou and Ginsberg regarding key concerns for journalists facing physical and legal threats, including proactive steps to protect reporting against libel and other lawsuits, working with confidential sources, legal protections available for journalists, and strategies to stay safe while covering demonstrations and interacting with law enforcement.
Several questions focused on the implications of the January 14 FBI raid of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home in connection with an Espionage Act investigation. The day after the raid, Papachristou spoke to the Post about some of the pressing legal issues and concerns it raised. Read the article here.
The two-day workshop was co-sponsored by the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and its McGraw Center for Business Journalism. Panels and sessions addressed topics ranging from reporting on transportation in New York City to covering and using AI in newsrooms.
IRE’s Watchdog Workshop series trains journalists on basic principles and skills of investigative reporting, including interview strategies, navigating public records and database and document analysis.
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Newsgathering in the Face of Volatility
Earlier in January, Lawyers for Reporters Staff Attorney OJ Singh moderated a virtual panel hosted by the American Bar Association on newsgathering amid uncertainty. The discussion, “Navigating Uncertainty: Newsgathering in the Face of Volatility,” featured insights from attorneys representing print, digital, and broadcast media organizations.
The panelists discussed how their colleagues and organizations conduct First Amendment-protected newsgathering activities in the face of regulatory uncertainty and volatility and shared their experiences confronting new and evolving challenges. They delved into the Pentagon’s new press policy, measures to protect journalists who have been repeated targets of personal online attacks, and covering immigration operations nationwide.
The group of panelists included Zach Press, Senior Counsel at The Guardian and former Senior Staff Attorney at Lawyers for Reporters. Approximately 50 people attended the virtual event.