In the wake of President Donald Trump’s order to ban news outlets CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House, journalists are having to defend their right to report the news now more than ever, said Kirstin McCudden, chief of editorial for the nonprofit Freedom of the Press Foundation, and Dan Kubiske, chair of the Society of Professional Journalists International Community.
“We need to keep the battle going, and keep old journalists and new journalists aware of different methods to be able to tell the story without being preachy and without talking down to the readers and the viewers,” Kubiske said at an SJP 2026 panel, “Incorporating The First Amendment In Your News Beat.”
Kubiske emphasized the importance of the First Amendment beat. Voice of America, established in 1942, was the only news organization in the world with a press freedom desk, according to Kubiske. Decades later, the New York Times’ Assistant Standards Editor Jessica Jerreat led the charge as the outlet’s press freedom editor and supervisory assignment editor from July 2020 to July 2026.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a database McCudden created, tracks press freedom incidents in the country, such as book bans and free speech on college campuses.
The tracker helps journalists contextualize information on press freedom violations and can form the backbone of their reporting, she said.
Journalists can make the First Amendment relatable to their audiences by covering local and regional press freedom issues, said McCudden. The Freedom of Information Act can help reporters reveal violations, but it’s getting tougher to get the information the public needs to know what’s going on.
Journalists can build trust with their audiences by disclosing how they work, including routinely publishing redacted FOIA responses and explicitly citing First Amendment grounds in the text, said McCudden. During the session, both speakers agreed that journalists should treat press freedom as vital infrastructure for local and national health and foster a deeper public understanding.
“Keep your eyes and ears open. Always pay attention to any violations of the First Amendment; that includes finding speech and actions that you don’t agree with,” Kubiske said. “Because the First Amendment means nothing. If it does not support stuff that you don’t like.”
From the tracker to a list of resources, session attendees left with more clarity on how to build public trust while incorporating what journalists do daily into their writing.
To learn more:
- MuckRock Foundation is a nonprofit organization and newsroom where journalists, researchers and the public can request, analyze and share government information, aiming to make politics more transparent and democracy more informed.
- Serving as the nation’s only legal organization devoted to protecting student journalists’ free press rights, the Student Press Law Center helps students and their educators navigate the law, grow their reporting and stand up for a free press.
- Reporters Without Borders is an international nonprofit organization governed by the principles of democratic governance that defends every person’s right to access free and reliable information.
- Freedom of the Press Foundation is a nonprofit organization that focuses on protecting and defending public-interest journalism, giving journalists tools to protect themselves and their sources, monitor aggressions against the press and advocate for First Amendment rights.
- Committee to Protect Journalists is a nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide and defends journalists’ right to report safely.
- As the leading pro bono legal services organization for journalists and newsrooms, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provides legal resources at no cost to protect First Amendment freedoms and journalists’ newsgathering rights nationwide.
- Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is the nation’s leading defender of fundamental rights on college campuses that offers resources to students and faculty, outreach, public education campaigns, individual case advocacy and policy reforms.
Featured photo by Kallie Bourgeois.