This story is syndicated from The Delphi, the newspaper of Delaware Valley Regional High School in Frenchtown, NJ. The original version of the story ran here.
On June 21, 2023, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced to Congress the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act — or “PRESS.” It unanimously passed, but hit party-line bipartisanship in the Senate and stalled indefinitely under a Republican blockade. Now, with Republicans back in control of all three branches, the bill appears to be dead in the water.
For as long as the law remains unpassed and unenforced, the federal government may compel journalists to reveal private information, such as their sources, documents or other records, even in non-emergencies. It’s happened before, including as recently as 2024, and we should have every expectation that it will happen again.
So how did the PRESS Act go from unanimously passing in the House to a bust in the Senate? We went from every Republican voting “yea,” to none. According to AP Government teacher Ted Manner, it’s partly due to then President-elect Trump and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR).
“The Senate confers a vast amount of power onto individual senators,” Manner said. “So it just takes one to put it into a hold, and it seems to be Sen. Tom Cotton.”
Cotton has been a public Trump supporter since his first term in office. He was nearly Trump’s nomination to the Supreme Court in 2020. Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) referred to Cotton as Trump’s “long-time ally.”
Cotton called the bill “a threat to U.S. national security and an insult to basic fairness in the principle of equality before the law” during a Senate floor speech. He claimed it would place the media above others and give them more rights than even the president.
Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists, has long worked to pass this bill. She was interviewed by PBS News this past November to express her support and encourage the 118th Senate to pass the bill in the last month of its term before Trump’s inauguration.
After seeing Ginsberg’s interview, Trump took to his Truth Social social media account to speak out against the CEO.
“REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!” Trump posted, followed by a link to the interview. After his post, the PRESS Act lost much of its momentum, as its supporters struggled to keep it relevant against a tide of sudden anger.
Anger is a fear response. In reality, Cotton and Trump are scared. This bill would prevent direct actions, taken by Trump in his first term, against journalists.
In 2017, the Department of Justice drew criticism for its attempt to subpoena phone records from journalists at The New York Times and CNN. The reporters had been investigating Russia’s involvement and possible interference in the 2016 election. As Russian officials’ support of Trump’s campaign was part of the investigation and Trump was on record calling the reporting a “hoax,” it was unclear and concerning what Trump’s Justice Department wanted with the content.
But the PRESS Act was never meant to target Trump or current Republicans alone. Other administrations, on both sides of the aisle, are also guilty.
In 2013, a leak from within the U.S. government revealed to Associated Press reporters that the CIA had foiled a potential terrorist attack. In order to discover the source, the DOJ under President Obama seized over 20 phones used by the reporters, without their knowledge. This not only included work-related communication, but also personal data and phones.
With Trump back in office, it’s impossible to ignore that he is furthering the Executive Branch’s history of overreach in his February actions to punish the Associated Press and reshape the White House press pool in unprecedented, partisan ways.
Trump has also filed several lawsuits recently against media for alleged bias and libel, including ABC, CBS, and the Des Moines Register.
Our founding fathers outlined protections for journalists 250 years ago. When we lose those protections, dangerous ripple effects begin, first for whistleblowers, and then for the country. We stand to lose a crucial method for staying informed and holding our government accountable. Few whistleblowers, if any, would still talk to reporters without anonymity. According to Pew Research, over 80% of Americans understand the value of anonymous sources for sensitive stories.
Tom McHale, president of the Garden State Scholastic Press Association, has been working to protect journalists’ rights for years. A speaker at Del Val’s annual Hunterdon County Student Media Convention, McHale is known for advocating specifically for student journalists. He has concerns, he said, about the bill’s mobility, and pointed out, too, that Trump has said he won’t sign it.
“The whole process will have to start all over again,” Manner said.
Student journalists in at least 18 states may ironically enjoy more protection than professional journalists do without the PRESS Act in effect. McHale was a large player in the passing of the New Voices law in his home state of New Jersey. Seventeen other states have their own versions, all developed and passed to protect student journalists from undue influence — which may come from advisors against editors, school administrators against advisors, or the public against the paper. During his time working to pass New Voices, McHale never viewed it as a bill that leaned politically to one side.
“Both sides are in favor of free speech,” McHale said. “They might both come at it from different angles, but the most conservative and the most liberal members of the New Jersey legislature were supporters of this bill.”
The CPJ’s U.S., Canada and Caribbean program coordinator, Katherine Jacobsen, remains in full support of the bill.
“We urge the Senate to prioritize the passage of the PRESS Act to create uniform federal protections for journalists and the public’s right to know,” Jacobsen said. “Pushing forward this legislation would send a strong message about the vital role that journalists play in a democracy.”
You can call your state congressional leaders and request that they vote in favor of the PRESS Act. You can find your House representatives here or your senators here.