A Free Press Isn’t Free

A free press is essential to sustaining a nation’s freedom. It is through the press that citizens hold government accountable. Therefore, it is disturbing when government attempts to censor the press and limit access to who can scrutinize their actions.

That’s why The Franklin News Foundation - through our editorial engine, The Center Square (TCS) - battles for government credentials and open meetings across all 50 states. Each win has brought taxpayers clearer access to the movements of their state and local governments.

What’s more, these victories are not ours alone, but ones we proudly celebrate with you. We thank you for making these achievements possible. Together, you and I are supporting our constitutional right to a press corps that knows what government is doing, so that each citizen has an informed voice.

Press credential victories

ILLINOIS

After six years of fact-based reporting in Illinois, breaking news coverage such as long-term House Speaker Mike Madigan’s indictment from the FBI and the legislative and legal battles over the state’s gun ban, The Center Square received credentials in the fall of 2023 to attend the Illinois House and Senate chamber during floor action. The Center Square staff were denied press credentials for years because elected officials didn’t want daily scrutiny on taxpayer issues. Today, we go inside the chambers and report the facts that matter most to citizens statewide.

WASHINGTON

In 2024 The Center Square won a years-long battle for credentials in Washington state, where the state Capitol Correspondents Association grants press credentials. The Washington body is led by a reporter for a left-leaning media outlet launched months after The Center Square as a direct attempt to counter our efforts as a free, taxpayer-centered newswire. After weeks of correspondence, The Center Square staff earned full access to the Capitol.

Tennessee: Opening government meetings to the public

Our staff at The Center Square took legal action to ensure public access to Tennessee judicial meetings, in a battle we chronicled with eight articles over nearly two years.

• February, 2022: The Director of Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts issued a policy that closed the Tennessee Judicial Conference off from the public and prevented the press from attending.
• June, 2022: The Franklin News Foundation’s Chief Content Officer Dan McCaleb filed a lawsuit, alleging this policy violated the First Amendment because, at the conference, state court judges and committees, among other things, recommend legislation that directly impacts Tennesseans in the courtroom.
• March, 2023: A U.S. District Court judge granted McCaleb an injunction, ruling the Tennessee state court’s Advisory Commission must open its meetings to the public either in person or via livestream.
• December 8, 2023: The first of these meetings livestreamed to the public took place in compliance with the injunction.
• April 3, 2024: A second meeting was livestreamed for public observance.

Through the Franklin News Foundation, you fight everyday for access to the information on the news that matters most to you. Thank you for your crucial service to fighting for this essential constitutional freedom.

Your support empowers the aggressive pursuit of the free press principles our nation’s very liberties depend on. Thank you for standing with us in this fight.