Katie Townsend

Legal Director

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Katie Townsend is the Legal Director at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. She oversees the litigation, amicus, and other legal work of Reporters Committee attorneys, and represents the Reporters Committee, news organizations, and individual journalists, including documentary filmmakers, in court access, freedom of information, and other First Amendment and press freedom matters.

Participating Sessions

Investigative Filmmaking Under Fire: The Holly, a Case Study

The Holly documentary goes deep inside a gentrifying community in Denver, where a shooting case involving an activist exposes the political machinations of urban development and the city’s gang activity. From production all the way through distribution, a variety of legal issues threatened to shut the film down. In this session, we take a look at the legalities of filming in a courtroom, what to do when you’re being sued...