How governments have limited journalists, 1900 to today.
Compare: who did what, when: access bans
Each row is a tactic and each column a country. A cell lists the dated incidents in which that country's government used that tactic, with the head of government at the time and the outcome. Every incident links to its sources.
Court orders RCMP to stop restricting press access at Fairy Creek logging blockades. John Horgan. Reversed. Issue of the day: The RCMP was enforcing a court injunction won by logging company Teal-Jones against protesters blocking old-growth logging roads near Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island, and had required journalists to check in and stay escorted rather than observe enforcement directly.
China expels foreign journalists and restricts coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests. Li Peng. Sustained. Issue of the day: Student-led pro-democracy protests had occupied Tiananmen Square for weeks before the government declared martial law and then used the military to clear the square in early June 1989, and moved to control international coverage of the events that followed.
Tanzania shuts down internet access on election day amid unrest. Samia Suluhu Hassan. Unknown. Issue of the day: The shutdown coincided with a disputed general election and protests against President Samia Suluhu Hassan's government, which Human Rights Watch later said was followed by killings and broader restrictions once the results were announced.
United States military bars journalists from the invasion of Grenada. Ronald Reagan. Reversed. Issue of the day: Defense officials had for years blamed unrestricted press coverage for damaging public and political support during the Vietnam War, and applied that lesson by excluding reporters from the opening phase of the Grenada operation.
Minnesota State Patrol arrests CNN crew live on air in Minneapolis. Tim Walz. Reversed. Issue of the day: Protests in Minneapolis followed the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Jimenez's crew was reporting live on the unrest and the state's response near the site of the killing when troopers moved to clear the area at dawn on May 29.
Federal officers restrict press access to Portland protests; judge orders them to stop. Donald Trump. Reversed. Issue of the day: The federal government sent Department of Homeland Security officers to Portland in July 2020 to protect a federal courthouse during nightly protests that followed George Floyd's killing; officers' use of force against bystanders, including identified journalists, prompted the lawsuit.
Border czar Tom Homan says ICE media ride-alongs may end over leaks. Donald Trump. Unknown. Issue of the day: An ICE operation in Aurora, Colorado aimed at alleged gang members captured only one of roughly one hundred people sought; acting ICE director Caleb Vitello attributed the shortfall to leaks about the operation before it occurred.
White House ends wire services' guaranteed seat in the press pool. Donald Trump. Sustained. Issue of the day: The change followed the White House's dispute with the Associated Press over its refusal to adopt the administration's "Gulf of America" naming, part of a broader restructuring of how the White House selected the press pool that began in February 2025.
White House closes 'Upper Press' section of West Wing to reporters. Donald Trump. Sustained. Issue of the day: The White House said it acted after concluding that reporters had secretly recorded video and audio inside West Wing press offices and entered restricted areas, though it did not identify the reporters or recordings involved.
China expels foreign journalists and restricts coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests. Li Peng. Sustained. Issue of the day: Student-led pro-democracy protests had occupied Tiananmen Square for weeks before the government declared martial law and then used the military to clear the square in early June 1989, and moved to control international coverage of the events that followed.
Tanzania shuts down internet access on election day amid unrest. Samia Suluhu Hassan. Unknown. Issue of the day: The shutdown coincided with a disputed general election and protests against President Samia Suluhu Hassan's government, which Human Rights Watch later said was followed by killings and broader restrictions once the results were announced.
Court orders RCMP to stop restricting press access at Fairy Creek logging blockades. John Horgan. Reversed. Issue of the day: The RCMP was enforcing a court injunction won by logging company Teal-Jones against protesters blocking old-growth logging roads near Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island, and had required journalists to check in and stay escorted rather than observe enforcement directly.
Minnesota State Patrol arrests CNN crew live on air in Minneapolis. Tim Walz. Reversed. Issue of the day: Protests in Minneapolis followed the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Jimenez's crew was reporting live on the unrest and the state's response near the site of the killing when troopers moved to clear the area at dawn on May 29.
Federal officers restrict press access to Portland protests; judge orders them to stop. Donald Trump. Reversed. Issue of the day: The federal government sent Department of Homeland Security officers to Portland in July 2020 to protect a federal courthouse during nightly protests that followed George Floyd's killing; officers' use of force against bystanders, including identified journalists, prompted the lawsuit.
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