Freedom of the press in the United States is legally protected by the First Amendment, which famously declares: “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”

Nearly three-quarters U.S. adults say press freedom is extremely or very important to the well-being of society, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey. But there’s been grave concern about the state of press freedom for some time. A separate Pew survey from 2023 found that 57% of U.S. journalists reported feeling extremely or very concerned about potential restrictions on press freedoms.

“We are truly standing at a crossroads in which one of the five freedoms of the First Amendment is under unprecedented duress,” said Ken Paulson, who directs the Free Speech Center at the College of Media and Entertainment at Middle Tennessee State University. “We’ve seen, for decades, attacks by politicians on news media of all sorts. And it’s part and parcel of the relationship between a free press and those in power, but what we’re seeing now is much more aggressive and involves the use of government power directly against journalism.”

The responsibility of supporting press freedom cannot and should not fall on one person — or even the entire press corps.

“There are a lot of ways that someone can get engaged and get informed about the press freedom issues that are facing everyone today,” said Jenn Topper, vice president of communications for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “Press freedom isn’t something that just belongs to journalists. It belongs to the public, and it’s the reason we have information about what’s going on in our daily lives.”

Poynter spoke with several people to see what everyday folks can do to support press freedom organizations and press freedom. Below are a few actionable steps anyone can take.

Subscribe to stay informed

Here’s a good starting point: Subscribe to newsletter updates from press freedom organizations — groups that actively promote and defend the freedom of the press.

“That’s one of the ways that you can really, really stay informed,” Topper said of the RCFP, which provides pro bono legal representation to and on behalf of journalists. “Our newsletter, we write every month about the various issues that are going on at all levels — local level, state level, federal level. And so it’s a really good way for people to get a full picture of some of the threats to press freedom, but also what organizations like ours are doing to fight back.”

Topper said donating to press freedom organizations is another way to support them. For example, donations to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press go toward the organization’s pro bono legal services. Though the RCFP is based in Washington, D.C., Topper said it has attorneys in states like Tennessee, Colorado, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Indiana — which she described as a “nice footprint” across the country. But she acknowledged that not everyone has the means to donate. Even getting the word out about the resources that are out there for press freedom makes a difference, she said.

Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said there are many press freedom groups both nationally and locally. Launched in 2012, the Freedom of the Press Foundation funds and supports free speech and press freedom. Stern oversees FPF’s efforts to promote policies that protect press freedom.

In addition to the advocacy work that he spearheads, Stern said his organization trains journalists on digital security, and operates and develops software tools that allow journalists to receive documents from sources confidentially, anonymously and securely.

“There are tons of great organizations doing press freedom work,” Stern said, “and people should support whichever they’re able to support.”

Pay for news

A robust press is vital for democracy. But the work journalists do comes at a cost. One good way to support press freedom is to subscribe to a local newspaper or other outlets.

“There is no such thing as a free lunch,” said Elisa Lees Muñoz, executive director of the International Women’s Media Foundation, an organization whose mission is to “unleash the potential of women journalists as champions of press freedom to transform the global news media.” “The real thoughtful news that is making a difference in communities requires support, be it nonprofit news or for-profit news.”

Muñoz pointed out many Americans’ willingness to pay for entertainment. News media is also worthy.

Paulson of the Free Speech Center said paying for journalism is the best way to support a free press. “We are in a period of American journalism in which resources are scarce and growth is minimal, if at all,” he said. “The only way to produce good journalism is to employ professionals with experience and insight. That doesn’t come cheaply.”

Paulson said an extraordinary number of Americans seem satisfied with truly substandard and misleading content as long as they get it free.

“As a citizen, I subscribe to multiple news reports as a down payment on democracy,” he said. “Every dollar I pay towards the gathering of information makes it more likely someone is going to be sitting in that city council meeting, telling me what I need to know about the quality of life in that community and giving me some insight into who I should end up voting for to protect my interests.”

Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation said news outlets need to be well-funded to survive legal attacks.

“Right now, they’re having enough trouble even paying reporters and getting news on paper.”

FPF recently collaborated with Wired to allow the magazine to stop paywalling articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. “Public records are disappearing. The National Archive is in disarray,” Stern said. “It’s going to be harder and harder to get documents out of the administration.”

He added that citizens can protect press freedom on paper, but that’s not enough.

“But if there’s not a functional, viable press to use those protections and to carry out that work, then everything you’ve accomplished is academic,” Stern said. “So I think the first thing folks can do to support the press is subscribe to their news outlets and put some money in news outlets’ pockets and in journalists’ pockets so they can continue to exist.”

‘Keep an ear to the ground’

People concerned about press freedom can observe their own town or city for threats to journalism in real time. Topper of the RCFP encourages people to “keep an ear to the ground” where they are.

“Threats to press freedom can be small and incremental, and they happen everywhere,” she said. “They can be bold and obvious, like the situation with the AP and the White House, or they could be something like a city council meeting that’s being held behind closed doors. So the more that you are engaged in your own community, the more you can monitor for these things happening where you are.”

Freedom of the Press Foundation has a Press Freedom Tracker, which documents incidents across the country, ranging from arrests of journalists, assaults on journalists, subpoenas of journalists and more.

“It’s important to have that information so that those trends can be documented, so that we can recognize the impact of the decline in press freedom in practical terms, not just legal ones,” Stern said. “So for folks who are not journalists, you can support the press freedom tracker by supporting us.”

Stern also encourages people who become aware of an incident impacting press freedom to submit a tip for the tracker.

Topper said threats to press freedom happen all the time and everywhere, and added that their attorneys are always busy.

“I would say the conversation has changed, and press freedom is now at the forefront again in a way that it hasn’t been in the past few years,” she said. “But our work is just as robust and our docket is just as full, and we remain steadfast and ready to handle whatever comes our way.”