Vance Center Joins Panels on Growing Threats to US Journalism

This fall, Vance Center Executive Director Alex Papachristou spoke on threats to media freedom at virtual panels hosted by the International Center for Journalists and clients URL Media and WURD.

The Vance Center’s Lawyers for Reporters program earlier this year assisted WURD, a Black-owned local radio station in Philadelphia, to resolve litigation challenging how it provided health care information to the Philadelphia community. The station’s leadership asked Papachristou to describe the case to the station’s staff in the context of rising threats to media freedom, particularly focusing on minority and marginalized communities enduring longstanding and renewed discrimination.

Papachristou later spoke with members of URL Media about similar regulatory and legal issues. URL Media is a nonprofit media organization aimed at building a sustainable, decentralized, multi-platform network that facilitates content and revenue-sharing among high-performing  Black and Brown media organizations.

His presentation focused on current regulatory threats to media independence. He provided practical guidance for reporting and publishing amidst heightened official scrutiny of independent journalism, particularly for minority and marginalized audiences.

In parallel to these conversations with U.S.-based clients, Papachristou also joined discussions that framed new developments in the U.S. media landscape for an international audience. On October 30, Papachristou joined a virtual panel hosted by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), entitled “Press Freedom in the US: Where Is It Headed?”

The conversation, moderated by ICFJ President Sharon Moshavi, included insights from other panelists Randy Shapiro, global newsroom counsel at Bloomberg News; and Mark Bailen, founder of Bailen Law, legal counsel to the Society of Professional Journalists, and ICFJ Board Director.

The discussion examined recent U.S. government actions to restrict or undermine independent media in the country, including cutting federal funding for public broadcasters, deporting or barring entry to journalists, threatening legal action against broadcasters, and enacting restrictions on reporters covering the Pentagon. The panelists, all members of ICFJ’s legal advisory committee, discussed concerns for press freedom, censorship, and media independence in the U.S., as well as the impact these changes may have on other countries.

Papachristou highlighted some of the issues the Vance Center’s Public Interest Reporting Program has encountered among its clients in the U.S. and abroad. These include concerns about potential financial or regulatory investigations and the safety of immigrant or undocumented journalists.

He also noted that the U.S. has become a less appealing location for media outlets and journalists in exile from other countries to set up new operations. This is due to various factors including the treat of restrictions on cross-border funding, nonprofit status, and immigration law enforcement.

The Public Interest Reporting Program has supported exiled outlets from more than 10 countries. We have helped them establish operations in the U.S. and other countries so the outlets and their journalists can keep reporting safely. Read more about our work with exiled media.