What “The Press” Means in the First Amendment

It never ceases to amaze how many supposedly educated people do not understand what “the press” means in the First Amendment. It refers to the press in the sense of publishing, historically the printing press. It does not create a privileged class called “journalists” with special constitutional rights unavailable to everyone else. The First Amendment protects the same freedom of speech for everyone, exactly as it should, and, as a second step, the press, as in the freedom to disseminate information, because freedom of speech is useless without the right to disseminate it. This is all very elementary stuff, and yet there are still countless people running around claiming that so-called journalists have special rights.

Hans Mahncke

… coverage, agrees with its reporting, or approves of the questions its journalists ask.

This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the right of the American people to receive a full and independent account of the activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation’s highest office.

The WHCA stands in defense of our colleagues at CNN, MSNOW, and POLITICO who are being singled out for doing their jobs.

- Jacqui Heinrich, White House Correspondents' Association President

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