Press freedom faces unprecedented challenges today — including a coordinated effort to undermine the media’s essential watchdog role. This goes far beyond traditional tensions between government and press. We now confront the potential weaponization of federal regulations, surging defamation litigation, and increasingly aggressive threats to journalists — from legal intimidation to dangerous digital harassment like doxing and swatting — even during routine reporting activities.
Media organizations face a stark reality: Their fundamental ability to gather news and expose truth is under attack.
Our Mission
The Press Freedom Defense Fund’s mission is to be the go-to resource for newsrooms when trouble is on the horizon.
We are practicing journalists, security experts, source protection specialists, and newsroom lawyers. We’re channeling our experiences into advising news organizations and journalists with all the opsec, operational, and legal tools in our toolkit — particularly for smaller newsrooms that don’t have risk-mitigation infrastructure.
We understand the challenges these newsrooms face in a very tangible way.
What We Offer
The Fund provides critical support through a comprehensive approach to protect news organizations. We offer customized legal and operational security reviews tailored to identify vulnerabilities, then provide resources to operationalize those protections. Our security reviews provide expert evaluation of digital security practices to protect journalists and their sources from emerging threats. We work with newsrooms to develop customized business-oriented solutions and offer small grants for implementation support. Our goal is to help news organizations resolve these issues, not just learn about best practices.
And when legal or security challenges arise, we provide rapid-response funding for newsrooms or journalists who are under attack to offset costs associated with litigation and provide support to address urgent threats. Additionally, we offer training on digital security, legal risk assessment, nonprofit board governance, and more to help newsrooms build internal capacity for threat prevention.Throughout all our work, we emphasize proactive protection: developing resources and strategies to help prevent legal and security threats before they escalate.
Our Approach
We focus on practical, bespoke solutions for journalists and newsrooms that are already overextended. Many media organizations, particularly smaller independent outlets, lack the resources to protect themselves. Our goal is to cultivate long-term partnerships, serving as trusted advisers as threats to journalism evolve in complexity and scope.
While we support journalists across the spectrum, we prioritize assistance for local outlets, freelance reporters, and independent journalists who often lack the resources and institutional support of larger organizations.
So far, we’ve consulted with 100 Days in Appalachia, El Timpano, AsAm News, Type Investigations, and Injustice Watch.
We don’t operate in isolation. We are operational experts. But to work toward the best possible result, we partner with legal service organizations like Lawyers for Reporters, law firms specializing in media law, and media-savvy security experts. This collaborative approach ensures journalists receive the appropriate services for their specific needs.
Our services: