local journalism project – The Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic

Clinic’s Local Journalism Project collaborates with Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Pittsburgh’s Public Source to provide pro bono legal help to local news outlets

PITTSBURGH – Adam Tragone has joined the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic as a Local Journalism Project Attorney in Western Pennsylvania, part of an innovative collaboration with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and the nonprofit news site Pittsburgh’s Public Source. By offering pro bono legal representation, training and general legal support to news outlets and journalists, the initiative will help sustain local journalism in the Western Pennsylvania region.

“This collaboration gives reporters in Western Pennsylvania the legal backing they need to do their jobs,” said Marisa Kwiatkowski, director of journalism at Knight Foundation. “That support is foundational to a free press.”

Heather Murray, Associate Director of the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic and Managing Attorney of its Local Journalism Project, said, “We launched the Local Journalism Project six years ago and have been partnering with Reporters Committee in Pennsylvania since then. We are very excited to expand our critical work on behalf of local journalists into Western PA with Adam joining us as our second Clinic satellite attorney in addition to our attorney based in NYC.”

(L-R) Heather Murray, Adam Tragone and Paula Knudsen Burke at a Sunshine Week event at Point Park University’s Center for Media Innovation in Pittsburgh.

Partnering with local law firms and non-profits, including the Reporters Committee, Tragone will provide a wide range of legal services to news outlets and independent journalists, including seeking access to public records and court proceedings and records, defending against subpoenas, conducting pre-publication review and providing libel defense. He will also provide a variety of operations and commercial-related legal support from contract drafting and review to advice on corporate organization, fiscal sponsorship, IP, employee issues, privacy and physical and data security. This position is generously funded by The Heinz Endowments and The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Journalists and media outlets may reach out to Tragone for legal assistance at ajt273@cornell.edu.

The Reporters Committee’s Pennsylvania-based attorney, Paula Knudsen Burke, said, “We’re looking forward to working alongside Adam to ensure that journalists bringing news and information to communities across the Commonwealth have the legal support that’s too often needed to do their jobs, all at no cost. The collaboration between the Reporters Committee and the Cornell First Amendment Clinic has made a tangible difference for local journalism in Pennsylvania, and we’re excited to grow the capacity of this effort.”

The Reporters Committee is a leading pro bono legal services organization for journalists and newsrooms in the United States. They provide legal representation, amicus curiae support and other legal resources at no cost to protect First Amendment freedoms and the newsgathering rights of journalists across the country.

Halle Stockton, Executive Director and Editor-In-Chief of Public Source, said, “Adam will bring much needed legal services to journalists in Western Pennsylvania, helping to champion transparency and preserve community-driven storytelling.”

Pittsburgh’s Public Source is an independent nonprofit newsroom covering local government, community development, education, health and the environment, among other issues. Rooted in the communities it serves, its team produces fact-checked journalism that holds powerful institutions accountable to the people most affected by their decisions.

Tragone received his J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh and his B.A. from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. As an attorney with the Institute for Free Speech in Washington, D.C., at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression in Philadelphia, and at Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky in Pittsburgh, Tragone has represented clients in a variety of First Amendment and media law matters. Prior to attending law school, Tragone served as the managing editor of a weekly newspaper in Washington, D.C.

“I’m thrilled to join the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic and collaborate with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Pittsburgh’s Public Source in defending and championing the First Amendment,” Tragone said. “As a newspaper editor and later in legal practice, I have always believed that a robust free press is crucial for democracy. In these challenging times, safeguarding the First Amendment is paramount.”

For more information, contact:

Adam J. Tragone, Local Journalism Project Attorney, Western Pennsylvania, Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic, ajt273@cornell.edu

Heather E. Murray, Associate Director, Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic, Managing Attorney, Local Journalism Project, hem58@cornell.edu

Clinic Director Mark Jackson and Local Journalism Project Managing Attorney Heather Murray recently published an Op-Ed in the Albany Times Union to amplify the efforts of journalist Janon Fisher to shed light on the judicial appointment process in NYC. While the trial court in the Clinic’s public records suit ruled that candidate applications for appointed judgeships must be released to the public with minimal redactions to shield private information, an appellate court late last year made it harder to hold power to account by overturning the lower court. Mr. Fisher has sought leave to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals with the Clinic’s assistance. The Court takes up only a small percentage of the requests to hear cases like ours, but we’re hopeful that ours will be one of them.

Thanks to the fantastic Clinic team that has contributed to work on this case thus far starting way back in 2021, including Ava Lubell, Christina Neitzey, Connor Flannery (who argued before both the trial court and the Appellate Division), Nyssa Kruse, Svetlana (Aika) Riguera, and Sun Shen.