The Intercept Relaunches Press Freedom Defense Fund

With newsrooms facing unprecedented threats from vexatious litigation, regulatory attacks, efforts to undermine whistleblower and confidential source protection, to threats of violence and doxxing of reporters, The Intercept is relaunching the Press Freedom Defense Fund to serve as a critical lifeline to preserving the foundation of truth-telling in our democracy.

PFDF will offer a Litigation Fund that will provide financial assistance to newsrooms or reporters facing serious legal threats, as well as a comprehensive risk assessment and action plan service to help newsrooms identify vulnerabilities and develop practical, operational safeguards (which was featured in the New York Times) and other training programs. The program will be housed at The Intercept, drawing on the expertise of its staff.

“This program is designed to help news organizations implement risk reduction strategies,” said David Bralow, The Intercept’s general counsel who will serve in a joint role as PFDF’s co-director and head of legal. “We are staffed by longtime journalism professionals who understand real-time issues facing news organizations, including operational security, independent contractor compliance, licensing practices, governance, and legal and regulatory risk. We are interested in how a news organization operationalizes risk reduction strategies as much as identifying risk issues.”

The Press Freedom Defense Fund draws on decades of collective experience in media law and investigative journalism through its leadership team. Bralow brings extensive experience in First Amendment law, defamation defense, pre-publication review, national security issues, and corporate governance from his work at Tribune Company, MediaNews Group Inc., and The Intercept. He was the co-founder of Lawyers for Reporters at the Vance Center for International Justice and an adjunct professor at Yale Law School and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.

Sumi Aggarwal, The Intercept’s chief strategy officer, will serve as the co-director for PFDF. She was the editor-in-chief of the Center for Investigative Reporting and led a team that produced impactful and award-winning multiplatform journalism. She also spent nearly a decade at CBS News’s “60 Minutes,” among other outlets. Nikita Mazurov is a security researcher focusing on source protection and has previously worked with the Committee to Protect Journalists, Internews, and other media organizations to develop best practices for source and journalist protection. Veteran national security reporter James Risen serves as an adviser.

The Intercept’s Press Freedom Defense Fund has previously supported press freedom efforts worldwide, from supporting Nobel laureate Maria Ressa to providing defenses for reporters and photographers facing significant threats.

Applications for services and financial support will launch in mid-February.