Teacher Guide: Press Briefings and Journalists’ Rights
Though politicians and journalists need one another, their interactions are by nature often adversarial. A key part of a reporter’s job is to look beyond the story public officials want to tell and to ask uncomfortable questions. But when officials believe reporters go too far, can they ban them from attending future gatherings? And what First Amendment or other rights protect reporters from such actions?
D.C. Circuit Upholds Injunction Blocking White House From Revoking Reporter’s Press Pass
While the White House had a legitimate interest in maintaining a degree of control over media access to the White House, U.S. Circuit Judge David Tatel wrote that the administration could not do so in a way that interfered with a reporter’s due process rights.
Ted Boutrous Challenges Preferential Treatment Given to OANN Reporter
Ted Boutrous sent a letter to White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham on April 3rd, demanding that Playboy White House Correspondent Brian Karem be allowed to attend press briefings. The letter also criticized the Trump Administration’s preferential treatment of a reporter for One American News Network (OANN), a conservative cable show.
Federal Judge Orders White House to Restore Brian Karem’s Press Credentials
"...The present record indicates that Grisham failed to provide fair notice of the fact that a hard pass could be suspended under these circumstances," U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras wrote in his opinion.
Update 9/4/2019: A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham to immediately restore Karem’s press pass. Brian Karem, a senior White House correspondent for Playboy magazine, […]