RCFP expands free legal support to local newsrooms in Gulf states and upper Midwest

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is expanding its Local Legal Initiative to Louisiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, and Michigan — nearly doubling the size of the program and adding four new attorneys who will provide journalists and news organizations across each state with legal support to pursue enterprise and investigative stories in their communities.

The growth comes in response to requests from journalists and newsrooms in each state, with many citing increased legal roadblocks to their reporting and a lack of government transparency as key drivers of the growing need for a state-based Reporters Committee attorney to support local journalism. 

“The Local Legal Initiative is a critical piece of infrastructure for local newsrooms, and the program’s growth speaks to its tangible success at a time when local journalists need free legal support more than ever before,” said Reporters Committee President Bruce D. Brown. “We are especially proud to expand the Local Legal Initiative deeper into the South and into the upper Midwest, regions where the Reporters Committee’s services can have an outsized impact on the local news landscape.”

The expansion in the Gulf states is made possible in part by $1.25 million in new funding awarded as part of Press Forward’s Open Call on Infrastructure, which is providing $22.7 million to 22 projects that address the urgent challenges local newsrooms face today. Lead funding in the upper Midwest is from the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis and the Joyce Foundation in Chicago, leveraged by a wide array of Michigan philanthropies. 

“Local journalists play an indispensable role in communities, yet they increasingly face challenges to getting the information they and the public need,” said Dale Anglin, executive director of Press Forward. “We’re delighted to help the Reporters Committee expand its successful program to more states.”

Virginia Hamrick has joined the Reporters Committee as the Local Legal Initiative attorney for Louisiana, and Andrew Coffman as the Local Legal Initiative attorney for Mississippi. The Reporters Committee is actively recruiting in Minnesota and Michigan, and those attorneys will be announced later this spring. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Virginia and Andrew to the Reporters Committee, and to build upon our previous work in these four states with dedicated, on-the-ground support,” said Eric Feder, director of the Local Legal Initiative. “With each new attorney we add to the Local Legal Initiative, the journalists and newsrooms we serve get stronger and the journalism they produce gets bolder. That’s a huge win for the communities that rely on their reporting to stay informed.”

The new states join established programs in Colorado, Indiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. 

Since its launch in 2020 with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Reporters Committee attorneys in Local Legal Initiative states have successfully pushed for greater transparency from cities and counties, police departments, state agencies, public universities, and more, prying loose records that shed light on everything from fatal police shootings and secret school board meetings to medical marijuana oversight and violence inside county jails. They’ve also defended journalists from libel suits and subpoenas of their newsgathering sources. Their work has helped shape laws and change city and county policies in favor of greater government transparency and more informed communities.

Outside the courtroom, Local Legal Initiative attorneys have also trained thousands of journalists on their First Amendment and newsgathering rights, responded to hundreds of calls to the Reporters Committee’s free Legal Hotline, and reviewed investigative stories before publication to help local reporters and newsrooms reduce their legal risk.

Meet RCFP’s new Local Legal Initiative attorneys

Louisiana

Virginia Hamrick joins the Reporters Committee from the law firm Fishman Haygood, LLP, where she litigated a range of cases, including matters involving contract disputes and business torts. A graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, Hamrick previously worked as a legal fellow for the Tulane Law School First Amendment Law Clinic and as a staff attorney for the Florida First Amendment Foundation. She is based in New Orleans.

“When local journalists face hurdles accessing public records, are shut out of government meetings, or are targeted with legal threats for their reporting, it’s ultimately our communities that lose out on information about important issues,” said Hamrick. “I’m delighted to join the Reporters Committee to help ensure that Louisiana journalists and news organizations have free, accessible legal support when they need it, and feel empowered to pursue vital investigative and accountability reporting.” 

Mississippi

Andrew Coffman joins the Reporters Committee from the law firm Phelps Dunbar, LLP, where he worked since 2020 litigating cases related to defamation, intellectual property infringement, and more. A graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, Coffman previously served as senior associate general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Health, as a senior associate attorney for the law firm King & Ballow, and as the inaugural National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law Fellow at the University of Mississippi School of Law. Andrew began his career as a law clerk to the Honorable Michael P. Mills in the Northern District of Mississippi. He is based in Tupelo. 

“Mississippi journalists are working every day to bring information to our communities, and in a growing number of cases, they need legal backing to fulfill that mission,” said Coffman. “I’m looking forward to being a resource for journalists and news organizations across the state to help them access public records and meetings, push back on legal challenges, and produce even more deeply reported stories that shed light on important issues and hold government accountable.”