The unfounded and at times violent attacks on journalists and news organizations in the United States, Puerto Rico, and around the world have become part of everyday life. Fewer critical voices are challenging those in power. That comes as no surprise: data from regional and global nongovernmental organizations show mounting threats to press freedom.
The United States now ranks 57th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, its worst standing since the ranking began in 2002. In the United States, more than 30 journalists were arrested or detained last year while covering protests. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the deadliest year in more than three decades. Most of those deaths occurred in war zones, particularly those caused by Israel’s government during the genocide in Palestine.
While attacks on the press vary in intensity and severity, they share one common feature: by silencing journalists, the state aims to intimidate them, using fear and self-censorship against reporters trying to inform the public about government actions. Those tactics make it easier to manipulate narratives and restrict the flow of reliable information.
Still, courageous reporters continue to ask uncomfortable questions, pursue the truth, and defend democracy and civil liberties at all costs.
One person who has been fighting for journalism’s protection across the hemisphere and internationally is David McCraw, the senior vice president and deputy general counsel at The New York Times and a visiting lecturer at Harvard Law School.
Over more than two decades, McCraw has led the legal team at one of the world’s most influential newspapers. Under his leadership, The Times has filed more than 150 lawsuits seeking access to public records at the federal and state levels, and he has played a pivotal role in advising investigations of major public interest. For example, he guided reporters and editors on how to publish WikiLeaks disclosures — the trove of leaked government and organizational documents — as well as classified U.S. government files leaked by Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor.
McCraw also advised reporters during coverage of the global #MeToo movement, which spurred public accusations of sexual harassment and abuse and helped bring down the film producer and sexual predator, Harvey Weinstein. Beyond his direct work with Times journalists, McCraw oversees the logistical, diplomatic, and legal “crisis management” efforts to secure the release of journalists or freelancers who are kidnapped or detained abroad, often while working in conflict zones.
During his visit to Puerto Rico beginning Monday, March 16, as the keynote speaker at the conference organized by the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI), McCraw will discuss The Times’ most recent legal battles with the administration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump. One of those cases echoes a recent clash between the CPI and the administration of Gov. Jenniffer González Colón: restricting access to press conferences and public spaces on the grounds that a journalist lacks an “official” press credential.
The New York Times has had to sue the Department of Defense — now the Department of War — and its secretary, Pete Hegseth, to challenge new Pentagon rules that limit journalists’ access to the agency. In an unprecedented move, the new policy under the Trump administration requires every journalist to sign a “commitment agreement” promising not to seek or publish information that the Department of War has not officially authorized, even if the material is public and nonconfidential. Backed by multiple news outlets and press freedom organizations, the newspaper argues in court that the policy clearly violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In Puerto Rico, the CPI recently won a major court ruling when Superior Court Judge Iris L. Cancio González of the San Juan Court of First Instance ordered Gov. González Colón and her press officer, Marieli Padró, to stop requiring the credential issued by the Puerto Rico Department of State as a condition for entering La Fortaleza and covering the governor and her Cabinet chiefs. In her ruling, the judge emphasized that “the plaintiffs’ right to freedom of the press is being curtailed by denying them access to valuable government information, about which they can publish or broadcast.”
Although the government has announced it plans to appeal the decision, CPI journalists have been able to enter the executive mansion since the ruling and do their jobs, including attending the press conferences held there. After the decision, the González Colón administration also stopped requiring a press credential in its media advisories.
The mimicry in how President Trump and Gov. González Colón treat the press has been evident from the start of both administrations. This latest legal fight over press credentials, which we anticipated months ago, shows they are increasingly willing to push the boundaries of what is legal and reasonable.
Recent history leaves little doubt: The state’s efforts to restrict access to information and silence the press are not exceptions. They are recurring moves by those who fear scrutiny. Beyond the “official” credential and the new limits imposed by Puerto Rico’s Transparency and Expedited Procedure for Access to Public Information Act, efforts to muzzle journalists here take many other forms. They want reporters to stay quiet when the state tries to influence editorial decisions or even pressure newspapers to change their front pages, as the infamous leaked Telegram chats made clear. Officials try to bury information by repeatedly refusing interviews and dodging accountability for their public actions. Political leaders seek to gag reporters with verbal attacks and ridicule simply for asking uncomfortable questions.
When I had the chance a year ago to take McCraw’s course at Harvard Law School, I never imagined that inviting him to Puerto Rico would coincide with a moment in which The New York Times and the CPI are waging similar legal battles against different governments. As he confronts the White House’s antidemocratic offensives in court, we continue defending the public’s right to know and to report against the dictates of power at La Fortaleza and the Capitol.
In the face of these realities, the public has a responsibility to remain vigilant. The visit by The New York Times’ attorney arrives at a pivotal moment, offering Puerto Rico a chance to reflect on the experience of someone who has spent years defending journalists in court and in the public arena. Much as we do at CPI, he has stood with reporters who refuse to be intimidated, keep digging and investigating, and publish work that scrutinizes and exposes abuses of government power.
This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.
