Chris Young
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youngchris.bsky.social
Chris Young
@youngchris.bsky.social
360 followers 71 following 13 posts
Editorial manager at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Lover of journalism, history, and the outdoors.
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Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
‼️ We're expanding @rcfp.org's Local Legal Initiative to Minnesota — and hiring an in-state attorney to provide local journalists and newsrooms free legal help to pursue impactful reporting in their communities.

Learn more and apply: smrtr.io/wM-xy
A text graphic that reads "We're hiring! We work to advance press freedom. Come work with us!" with the Reporters Committee logo.
January 29, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
Now is a perfect time to support press freedom with a donation to @rcfp.org: Through Sunday, our friends at Subject Matter will be adding $100 to each contribution, up to $5,000!

It's a great opportunity to maximize your impact in defense of the First Amendment. Donate here:
Seized + Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — SUBJECT MATTER
www.subjectmatter.org
January 28, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
A Tennessee judge has ordered the state to provide journalists expanded access to execution proceedings after a news media coalition — represented by @rcfp.org attorneys — challenged restrictions on press witnesses.
Judge orders Tennessee to expand media access to executions
The judge sided with arguments RCFP attorneys made in a lawsuit on behalf of a news media coalition.
www.rcfp.org
January 23, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
NEW: In a friend-of-the-court brief, @rcfp.org urged a federal court to reject the Pentagon’s new press access policy and supported @nytimes.com's lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.
In brief supporting NYT’s lawsuit, RCFP urges federal court to reject Pentagon’s media access policy
“This case is another line in the sand when it comes to a free press,” said RCFP Vice President of Policy Gabe Rottman.
www.rcfp.org
January 16, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
Until this week's FBI raid on Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's house, the Justice Department had “never executed a search warrant at the home of a reporter in a national security leak case,” notes @rcfp.org's Gabe Rottman. [via @cnn.com]
‘Tip of the iceberg’: The FBI search of a reporter’s home has newsrooms bracing for more | CNN Business
Inside The Washington Post, the impact was immediate. Reporters called the search “incredibly disturbing.” Hannah Natanson, whose home was raided, urged her Post colleagues to keep reporting.
www.cnn.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
a-marshall-plan.bsky.social
News:

Last night, @rcfp.org filed a motion in EDVA to unseal records related to the WaPo reporter warrant.

Currently all of the judicial records are sealed, including the affidavit purporting to justify the government’s actions.

Read our application here: www.rcfp.org/fbi-raid-was...
RCFP seeks to unseal court records related to FBI search of Washington Post reporter’s home
“The government cannot justify wholesale secrecy here, where the public’s ability to understand a search with serious consequences for a free press is at stake.”
www.rcfp.org
January 15, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
This morning, the FBI executed a search warrant at a @washingtonpost.com reporter’s home.

@rcfp.org President Bruce D. Brown called it “a tremendous escalation in the administration’s intrusions into the independence of the press.”

Read his full statement: www.rcfp.org/fbi-search-w...
RCFP statement on FBI search of Washington Post reporter’s home
“[T]his is a tremendous escalation in the administration’s intrusions into the independence of the press,” said RCFP President Bruce D. Brown.
www.rcfp.org
January 14, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
“Anytime that Congress tries to get in the business of inquiring into or interfering in constitutionally protected newsgathering, it’s a problem,” said @rcfp.org's Gabe Rottman. [via @washingtonpost.com]
House votes to subpoena journalist over report on Delta Force commander
A lawmaker accused Seth Harp of “leaking classified intel” after he posted a photograph of a person he identified as the head of the elite unit responsible for the Venezuela operation.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 9, 2026 at 8:45 PM
youngchris.bsky.social
My favorite winter solstice tradition, courtesy of Olafur Arnalds and friends: youtu.be/QzEsaXYYLIE?...
Ólafur Arnalds – Sunrise Session III with Sandrayati, RAKEL & Salóme Katrín
YouTube video by Ólafur Arnalds
youtu.be
December 21, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
adamrose.bsky.social
Journos, remember:

"Reporters sometimes dislike the idea of litigating because they want their work — not themselves — to be the story... But access to information is a muscle that must be flexed... We must fight against each attempt to chip away at our legal rights."

Amen to this from @rcfp.org!
niemanlab.org Nieman Lab @niemanlab.org · Dec 10
“Wear your name on a lawsuit as proudly as you do your byline.”

www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/jour...
December 13, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
craigcalcaterra.bsky.social
The Vanity Fair photographer from the Susie Wiles story.

Holy. Shit.

www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
Were there moments that you missed? Anything that happened that’s on the cutting room floor? I don’t think there’s anything I missed that I wish I’d gotten. I’ll give you a little anecdote: Stephen Miller was perhaps the most concerned about the portrait session. He asked me, “Should I smile or not smile?” and I said, “How would you want to be portrayed?” We agreed that we would do a bit of both. And then when we were finished, he comes up to me to shake my hand and say goodbye. And he says to me, “You know, you have a lot of power in the discretion you use to be kind to people.” And I looked at him and I said, “You know, you do, too.”
December 17, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
niemanlab.org
“Wear your name on a lawsuit as proudly as you do your byline.”

www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/jour...
December 10, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
fenitn.bsky.social
!!!

The Post obtained hot mic comments by the chair of RFK Jr.'s CDC vaccine committee.

"We feel like a little bit like puppets on a string as opposed to really being an independent advisory panel" wapo.st/4atob4M
During the Friday discussion, Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist who was recently named as the panel’s new chair, was overheard telling another panel member that he wanted to talk to “some of the higher-ups” about the panel’s work. “You know, I feel like, you know, it’s, sort of like we feel like a little bit like puppets on a string as opposed to really being an independent advisory panel,” according to a transcript of the exchange captured by videoconferencing software and obtained by The Washington Post. Asked about those remarks, Milhoan wrote in a text message, “There are pressures from many organizations: federal, industry, medical organizations that are trying to influence by ad hominem attacks, when we are trying to look at and ask for data.”
December 5, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
Today, @nytimes.com filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon over its new press access policy.

In a statement supporting the lawsuit, @rcfp.org's Gabe Rottman said the policy is "unlawful" and violates the First Amendment.

Read more: www.rcfp.org/nyt-pentagon...
A quote from RCFP's Gabe Rottman: “The Pentagon’s press access policy is unlawful because it gives government officials unchecked power over who gets a credential and who doesn’t, something the First Amendment prohibits. The public needs independent journalism and the reporters who deliver it back in the Pentagon at a time of heightened scrutiny of the department’s actions.”
December 4, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
davidjbier.bsky.social
An ICE agent, who is being arrested for drunk driving and nearly killing his little kids & others, tries to stop the arrest by racially profiling the officers arresting him. Amazing to watch the courtesy given to him as he is belligerent and uncooperative
October 17, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
Covering a No Kings rally this weekend?

Review @rcfp.org's legal guide that explains how to stay safe and avoid arrest while reporting on protests: rcfp.org/resources/po...

It's also available as a concise tip-sheet: www.rcfp.org/wp-content/u...
Police, Protesters, and the Press | The Reporters Committee
This guide helps journalists understand their rights and avoid arrest when reporting at protests by summarizing the legal landscape.
rcfp.org
October 17, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
Last night's #RCFPAwards25 was an inspiring celebration of press freedom — and a reminder that there are champions of the First Amendment fighting for the public's right to know at a time when America's free press is under attack.

Our thanks to everyone who supported the event.
RCFP President Bruce D. Brown speaking on stage at a podium with a green banner behind him reading Freedom of the Press Awards 2025. 2025 Freedom of the Press Awards honorees pose with their awards statues. From left: Brad Kutrow, Bob Cohn, Amanda Bennett, Jeffrey Goldberg, and Terry Baquet. Attendees sit at tables during the 2025 Freedom of the Press Awards. 2025 Freedom of the Press Awards statues, clear glass obelisks, sit on a table bathed in blue light.
October 16, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
keithwdickinson.bsky.social
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
October 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by Chris Young
a-marshall-plan.bsky.social
Just 8 days left to apply for a full-time staff attorney role at RCFP! Come litigate things with our amazing team:
jobs.smartrecruiters.com/ReportersCom...
Staff Attorney
Company Description: Established in 1970, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provides pro bono legal representation, amicus curiae support, and other legal resources to protect First Ame...
jobs.smartrecruiters.com
October 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
ronanfarrow.bsky.social
The Pentagon is ordering journalists to sign a gag pledge—even with respect to gathering unclassified information. Here are the facts.
#Pentagon #Journalism #FreeSpeech #FirstAmendment #Democracy #BreakingNews #NewsExplained
October 3, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
anthonymkreis.bsky.social
The William Calley Most Improved Award
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Sep 30
Hegseth: "You should not pay for an earnest mistake for your entire career. That's why today, at my direction, we're making changes to the retention of adverse information on personnel records."
September 30, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
@rcfp.org Steering Committee member @postbaron.bsky.social joined @nprfreshair.bsky.social to discuss the First Amendment implications surrounding Jimmy Kimmel’s brief suspension and the Trump administration's threats to free speech.

🎙️ Listen:
Examining Kimmel's brief suspension and Trump's threats to free speech
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is back, but New York Times reporter Adam Liptak and former Washington Post editor Marty Baron say the Trump administration is using federal power to control speech and the press.
www.npr.org
September 25, 2025 at 4:44 PM
youngchris.bsky.social
"An escalator can never break: It can only become stairs. You should never see an 'Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order' sign, just 'Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience.'" — Mitch Hedberg, RIP www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/w...
Escalator Malfunction at U.N. Sets Off Conspiracy Theories
www.nytimes.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
rcfp.org
@rcfp.org is pushing back against a new Trump administration policy that threatens to revoke press passes from journalists covering the Pentagon if they attempt to report info that officials haven’t pre-approved for release.

Read more: https://www.rcfp.org/pentagon-press-restrictions-statement/
Reporters Committee Vice President of Policy Gabe Rottman said: “In its current form, this dangerous new policy could be wielded to silence independent reporting in the public interest about the Pentagon and our national defense. At the most basic level, the First Amendment means that the government doesn’t get to decide what information a journalist can or can’t publish.”
September 23, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Chris Young
gravelinfluencer.bsky.social
Okay, this lede from the NY Times coverage of Trump's dinner out is pretty great.
President Trump ventured one-tenth of a mile beyond the gates of the White House for dinner on Tuesday night, only to be met almost immediately by protesters who called him “the Hitler of our time.”
September 10, 2025 at 12:31 PM