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?
Missouri Journalists Criticize Governor for Lack of Access to COVID-19 Press Briefings
Like a number of states, Missouri has moved from in-person press briefings to online ones in an effort to limit the spread of coronavirus. But unlike other states, Missouri has barred the press from asking questions in real-time.
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.
Trump Directed Press Sec. Sanders ‘Not To Bother’ Holding Daily Briefings
President Trump declared in a tweet that he has told White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to stop holding daily press conferences because the press covers her “rudely and […]
White House Restores Acosta’s Press Pass, Announces New Rules in Press Room
Following a two-week long legal battle over CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's White House access that played out on the national stage, the White House has reinstated his press credentials that were suspended earlier this month. But will a new set of rules and more strain on the relationship between the president and the press have a chilling effect on press freedom?
EPA Bars Reporters from Several Outlets From Attending National Summit
Reporters from CNN, The Associated Press, and E&E News were barred by the EPA from entering a national summit “of national priority,” while other reporters were allowed inside for Scott […]
The Newseum Institute’s First Amendment expert, Gene Policinski, originally published this commentary on May 11, 2018, on the Newseum blog, and has given First Amendment Watch permission to reprint. […]