User-generated content runs the gamut from public safety items to local sports, events, municipal government and business news. The Penn Hills Progress is one of TribLive’s 34 Neighborhood News Network hyperlocal sites. “Routine journalism is not a crime, and that’s why these cases are so important,” Morris concluded. In May 2023, the city of Atlanta was ordered to pay a $105,000 settlement for the unlawful arrest of a freelance photojournalist, Sharif Hassan, who filmed police actions during a 2020 protest. In North Carolina, Matilda Bliss and Veronica Coit, reporters with the Asheville Blade, a “leftist local news co-op,” were convicted of criminal trespassing for documenting the dismantling of a homeless encampment. Villarreal’s arrest is among a growing number of criminal prosecutions against reporters, based on whether the defendants are “journalists.”Ī self-described “new-media journalist,” Justin Pulliam, filed suit in Fort Bend, Texas, alleging his rights were violated when he was barred from a public press event and subsequently arrested for refusing to comply with a relocation order when he attempted to film an encounter between a police officer and a citizen. Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard arguments in January 2023. The case is currently in en banc review by the 5 th U.S. Though the criminal case was ultimately dismissed, Villarreal filed a civil suit against the city of Laredo and Webb County, claiming First Amendment violation. “Officials in Laredo took that statute and applied it to everyday routine journalism, and you can imagine that if they did that to Priscilla, they could do that to any journalist just doing their job,” Morris said. Villarreal was arrested on a felony charge based on a “Misuse of Official Information” statute. Priscilla Villarreal, a citizen journalist in Laredo, Texas, publishes a local news Facebook page under the pen name 'La Gordiloca.' She's currently awaiting a decision in a civil suit she filed against the city, county and members of law enforcement, who she alleges violated her First Amendment rights when they arrested her under a little-known and never-before-used criminal statute. They didn’t like the fact that Priscilla released the information before they wanted it out.” But when she asked about two newsworthy events - about the death of a border patrol agent who’d taken his own life by jumping off an overpass in the middle of Laredo, and information about a fatal car accident, they didn’t like that. “Like all fearless American journalists, she kept going. Known as “La Gordiloca” on Facebook, she was allegedly intimidated by law enforcement and the district attorney. When E&P spoke with Morris in May, he was awaiting a decision in the civil case of Priscilla Villarreal, a citizen who began reporting on police encounters in Laredo, Texas. It confuses the public about what speech is protected and the breadth of protection the First Amendment provides.” “Even if those bills don’t pass, the fact that they’re getting introduced and talked about, with the force of lawmakers behind them, sets a bad example for the public. “Most troubling is a willingness from lawmakers, particularly at the state level, who are willing to cast aside pretty clear First Amendment principles and introduce bills - and even pass legislation - that infringes on First Amendment rights,” Morris said. JT Morris, senior attorney, The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) “Now, anyone with a smartphone and a little bit of gumption can go out and gather news and capture and share really important newsworthy events.” “If you think about the lonely pamphleteer, armed with a printing press back in the Colonial times, this has always been a theme through our country - of citizens going out there and gathering news and sharing things with other citizens,” he said. Increasingly, FIRE is called upon to defend citizen journalists. Morris is a senior attorney at “FIRE,” the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. JT Morris advocates for First Amendment rights for journalists and all Americans. It would seem good for the country to have more watchdogs and more people contributing to the local news landscape - yet, not everyone agrees. They represent everyone from young people concerned about the future to retirees choosing to re-enter the workforce to play a new vital role. Instead of a J-school degree, they rely on tools like smartphones, blogs and social media pages to tell the story of their communities. Inherently, citizen journalists are not formally trained. As local newsrooms find they don’t have enough resources for comprehensive coverage, some communities are turning to citizen journalists to bridge the information gap.

It’s a simple question, newly steeped in controversy.

All about citizen free press