On June 21, 2023, the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act was introduced to Congress by Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. It unanimously passed through the House of Representatives, and it was expected to do the same in the Senate. However, the bill has been stalled since Jan. 22, 2024. 

The PRESS Act works to protect journalists’ rights. Currently, the federal government is allowed to compel journalists to reveal private information, such as their sources, documents or other records. This bill would prevent that, but with exceptions, such as to “prevent terrorism or imminent violence.”

Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, has been working to pass this bill since the beginning. She was interviewed by PBS News on Nov. 18 to express her support and encourage the Senate to pass the bill in the last month of its term. The CPJ’s U.S., Canada and Caribbean program coordinator, Katherine Jacobsen, was also 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 in a statement to The Delphi. “Pushing forward this legislation would send a strong message about the vital role that journalists play in a democracy. The current patchwork of protection from state shield laws creates vulnerabilities for journalists, their sources, and the free flow of information.”

After seeing Ginsberg’s interview, then President-elect Donald Trump took to his Truth Social social media account to speak out against the CEO.

“REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!” Trump [@realDonaldTrump] 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. 

So how did the PRESS Act go from unanimously passing in the House to never making it to the Senate floor?

According to AP Government teacher Ted Manner, it’s partly due to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and the powers placed on a single senator. 

“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 known to be one of Trump’s potential nominees for the Supreme Court; Cotton was also referred to as a “long-time ally of Donald Trump” by former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. 

The senator referred to the bill as “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.

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 was slammed multiple times for its attempt at subpoenaing phone records from journalists at The New York Times and CNN. The reason? Reporters were investigating Russia’s involvement and possible interference in the 2016 election.

This bill isn’t meant as a specific callout of Trump either. Other administrations, on both sides of the aisle, are just as guilty.

Barack Obama, for instance, had a similar incident 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 seized over 20 phones used by the reporters, without their knowledge. This not only included work-related communications but also items like home phones.

The forceful actions of multiple administrations are proof that the PRESS Act is long overdue. There is no reason the federal government should be able to infringe on journalists’ rights to protect their sources without due process. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”

Our founding fathers outlined protections for journalists 250 years ago. Do we no longer hold a respect for the First Amendment and rights of the media? Who would talk to a reporter when they can’t be guaranteed anonymity? What media will we have left without protections for them?

“I think that the bill would do journalists good,” The Delphi’s managing editor Ella Genovese said. “When you force journalists to give up their sources, they lose all credibility. More people will trust the news if journalists can keep true to their promises. Some people need to remain anonymous for a reason.” 

This bill in no way puts journalists rights “above” others; it gives them safety within their jobs. Who protects you when the government is allowed to access your phone records, emails and other forms of personal communication? No one.

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 Country Student Media Convention, McHale is known for advocating specifically for students.

McHale was a large player in the passing of New Voices in New Jersey. The law ensures rights for student journalists and protects them from retaliation against advisors. 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 PRESS Act is no different, and journalists’ protections are not an issue for one party or another.

There is a reason news reporting has existed for so long. Political or not, news informs the masses. By allowing this bill to sit on a desk, the Senate is ensuring, slowly but surely, that journalists feel less secure in their roles and that fewer people enter the field. When there’s no one left to publish the news, we’ll know who’s at fault.

At this point, the next option is to vote on the PRESS Act in the new congressional term.

“The whole process will have to start all over again,” Manner said. “It will have to go through the House and then through the Senate. The other thing, too, is that Trump said he’s not gonna sign it. That takes us into the second piece which is ‘Will there be an override?’ And you would need two thirds in both chambers for an override, which they might have in the House, but it’s hard to tell in the Senate.”

You can call your state congressional leaders and request that they vote in favor of the PRESS Act. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker did not respond to The Delphi’s request for comment. However, two, ten or thousands of voices speak louder than one. Make your opinion heard.

You can find your House representatives here or your senators here. Express your support for the PRESS Act by calling your congressional leaders.

“This protection is even more important today because of the attacks on journalism by those in power,” McHale said. “Journalists at every level need to know they can pursue the truth without fear of reprisal, and they need to be able to assure their sources that they can protect them.”