Information on this 1958 stamp can be found here.
Here's a quick primer for everyone on freedom of the press, as it relates to the White House Press Corps, because it seems like we need one.
Access of the press to the president was fought for and won by members of the press itself, and not fully realized until somewhat recently. During the Cleveland administration in the late 1890s, one reporter became known for waiting outside the gates of the White House to ask those coming and going about their business inside the White House. At the turn of the 20th century, President McKinley gave reporters a table in a second floor hallway to work from, and his secretary started the ongoing (and evidently endangered) tradition of regularly briefing the press on the President's activities. The first designated office for the press came under Teddy Roosevelt.
Teddy Roosevelt's administration is the first under which "White House Correspondent" became a real, respected line of work, and it's when most of the major dailies opened their first Washington bureaus. It is also at this time that the Press Room first appeared--a permanent location strategically located close to the president and his staff. Still, Roosevelt didn't entirely grasp their importance, and he largely used the reporters sent to cover him to shape his public image and he denied access to those who didn't report as he wanted them to (sound familiar?).
Starting with World War I, regular briefings of the press became commonplace--after all, there was a lot going on, regularly, and the press needed to know about it. President Truman altered these briefings to be more orderly and less chaotic, introducing a lot of the customs that are still followed in briefings today (or, at least, they were before the current administration showed up and turned the entire thing on its head). President Eisenhower was the first to allow television recording of his news conferences, forever changing the way we report on the president and providing unprecedented public access and transparency. By the 21st century, the press room had been improved and expanded, (seemingly) permanently acknowledging the centrality of the media in a presidential administration.
So why does the White House Press Corps matter? Because we need eyes and ears on the President and his staff. We need to know what the President does with his time, what the people working for him do--who they meet with, what they say. The access that the press has to the President and other members of the government is both ethically and morally requisite. However, this access is *not* legally guaranteed. It has been pushed for and somewhat reluctantly granted over more than a century. It is precious and quintessentially democratic. But the first amendment does not protect the press from being barred from the White House Press Room.
First, here's what the amendment says:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
What does this mean? The clause referencing the press is meant to ensure that no laws are passed that impinge on the ability of the press to do its job, to cover events as they happen, and write about them as they deem appropriate. Later SCOTUS decisions on issues of free press have clarified violations of the free press, including prior restraint, and they have made it difficult to sue the press when they make honest mistakes. But what the clause does NOT do is establish a legal requirement that the press be able to access anyone and anything it wants, not even elected officials.
That being said: denying access, as the administration did yesterday, may not be illegal, may not be unconstitutional, but it is undeniably wrong and we must combat it vigorously. In fact, the very legality of it makes it that much more important that we be aware, engaged, vigilant, and active in demanding access for journalists. We cannot sit back and wait for a legal system to force this administration to allow these reputable journalists back into the White House Press Room--we have to make it happen ourselves. No court will step in and require that the New York Times be allowed into Spicer's briefings. There is no law enforcement that will fix this problem for us. We must follow the example of each brave reporter that pushed for access to the people's house--the people's president--and demand the kind of transparency that only proximity can grant us. Our republic depends on it.
This post originally appeared on the author’s website. It is part of her ongoing series entitled Resources for the Resistance and can be accessed here.