Currently, the US ranks #55 on the World Press Freedom Index. It’s a low score that has consistently fallen over the years, and that’s due to a number of factors: Widespread media layoffs, the decline of local news, the prevalence of online harassment to women and minority journalists, the lack of legislation protecting reporters, the demonization of journalists, and more. There’s a lot that needs to be done to continue upholding the First Amendment to the highest degree, and the next president has the opportunity to strengthen protections — or make the state of the press even worse.
The full report is available here.