Coordinate a biweekly action team that monitors and responds to threats to press freedom in the United States.

Run a biweekly action team focused on tracking and responding to attacks on press freedom. This includes government retaliation against journalists and their sources, seizure of reporters' devices and notes, FOIA restrictions and denial of public records requests, revocation of press credentials and denial of access, physical assaults on journalists covering protests or other events, surveillance of reporters, attacks on the editorial independence of public media, threats to shield laws, and the use of leak investigations to intimidate sources.

Each meeting, pick a focus. This might be a specific incident, a pattern of government behavior, proposed legislation that would restrict press access, or an opportunity to support journalists and news organizations that are pushing back.

Responses can include writing to local, state, and national representatives, reaching out to news outlets to amplify coverage of press freedom incidents, sharing accurate information on social media, contacting local government officials about transparency and public records access, and supporting organizations that provide legal and safety resources to journalists.

The group meets every other week to coordinate, divide up tasks, share updates, and plan the next round of outreach. Off-weeks are for carrying out the work.

The group caps at 15 participants.

Essential skills:

• Ability to monitor news and organizational alerts for press freedom incidents and policy developments
• Strong written communication skills for letters, emails, and social media
• Comfort coordinating group tasks and keeping a team organized
• Willingness to engage with contentious political topics involving government transparency and accountability

NOT required:

• Journalism background or media industry experience
• Legal expertise or First Amendment law background

Operative must provide:

• An account with the digital platform that will host the team meetings
• Monitoring of news and organizational alerts for press freedom developments
• Coordination of team outreach between meetings
• Promotion and participant recruitment for the team

MFU will provide:

• An interest form on the MFU website to help identify the best times for the meetings
• A scheduling app on the MFU website that allows people to sign up for the team
• A channel on the MFU Discord server for coordination and discussion
• Template letters and outreach guides, if needed
• Promotion and participant recruitment for the team

You are welcome to use these sources to help you get started:

• The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a comprehensive database of press freedom incidents in the United States, including journalist arrests, equipment seizures, assaults, border stops, denial of access, and chilling statements by government officials. Run by the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
• Reporters Without Borders (RSF) publishes the annual World Press Freedom Index and maintains a country profile for the United States with current analysis of threats to journalists, legal framework issues, and government hostility toward media.
• PEN America's Supporting Journalists page collects resources for defending journalists facing online abuse, including the Online Harassment Field Manual, digital safety training, and tools for detecting and reporting on disinformation.
• The Freedom of the Press Foundation builds secure communication tools (including SecureDrop, used by 60+ news organizations for anonymous source communication), provides digital security training for journalists, runs the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, and advocates for press freedom through FOIA litigation and public campaigns.
• The ACLU's Freedom of the Press page covers the ACLU's legal work defending press freedom, including challenges to government surveillance of journalists, protection of confidential sources, and opposition to prior restraint and other government attempts to suppress reporting.
• The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provides free legal resources to journalists, including guides on journalists' rights at protests, FOIA request tools, and a legal defense hotline. Their Police, Protesters, and the Press guide is particularly relevant right now.
• The Committee to Protect Journalists tracks press freedom violations worldwide and in the United States, publishes safety advisories, and provides emergency support to journalists under threat, including legal aid, medical support, and digital security guidance.

For general questions, you can message your handler through your dashboard, contact @Owlett on Discord, or email info@myflyinguniversity.org.

If you have an idea for a different approach to all or part of this mission, please feel free to reach out before you get started!